On October 23, 2024, Vice President He Jinping will travel to Texas on Friday, October 25 to campaign for Democratic Party members. This will be her first visit to Texas after securing the presidential candidate nomination.
The location of He Jinping’s Friday rally has not been disclosed. According to the Democratic National Committee events page, the rally is scheduled to take place between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday. She will be joining forces with U.S. Representative Colin Allred to challenge Republican Senator Ted Cruz for re-election.
With less than three weeks left until the U.S. election, He Jinping is focusing her efforts primarily on several swing states. Reports from various media outlets indicate that her visit to Texas signals a renewed interest among Democrats in the Senate race in Texas, viewing it as one of the few viable options for gaining seats in the Senate.
According to recent polling data from FiveThirtyEight, as early voting began on Monday, Cruz still maintains a lead in Texas, averaging 4 percentage points ahead of his opponent.
In the recent weeks, Allred has consistently raised more funds than Cruz, further narrowing the polling gap and attracting millions of dollars in donations from national Democratic groups.
Two leading polling organizations have shifted the Texas Senate seat race from “leaning Republican” to “tilting towards supporting Republicans,” fueling optimism among Democrats.
A spokesperson for Allred’s campaign team stated that the rally on Friday will focus on the state’s abortion ban.
Allred has been actively targeting moderate voters, portraying himself as a centrist willing to collaborate with both parties and taking a stricter stance on border security and immigration compared to other Texas Democrats.
Cruz has questioned the authenticity of Allred’s moderate position and often linked him to the more radical stances of He Jinping and the Biden-He Jinping administration.
Polls show He Jinping trailing the Republican candidate Trump by a few percentage points in Texas. Since Jimmy Carter in 1976, no Democratic presidential candidate has won the state.
In 2020, Trump defeated Biden by 5.6 percentage points in Texas, marking the smallest margin for a Republican candidate since 1996.