Both presidential candidates will visit Texas on Friday as Election Day approaches

AUSTIN, Texas – We are now exactly two weeks away from Election Day and both Vice President Harris and former President Trump will be making stops in Texas later this week.

Both will be here on Friday: Harris meets with US Senate candidate Collin Allred in Houston and Trump visits Austin to record an interview with Joe Rogan for his popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.

Many experts assume that seven states will decide who wins the White House. In these states, the presidential race is so close that it is unclear who will get the electoral college votes needed to win. Texas is not one of those states, and while some believe the traditionally red state can be flipped, a political expert I spoke with says that either way, Texas is a strong platform to reach voters in these battleground states.

Travis County Republican Chairman Matt Macowiak says the announcement that presidential candidates Kamala Harris AND Donald Trump are coming to Texas is somewhat surprising given how close it is to the election.

“Texas is not a state where either side is competing at the presidential level,” Macowiak said. “These are the last visits we have had with candidates of both parties in a long time. Generally, presidential candidates come to Texas to raise money and that’s about it.”

Travis County Democratic Chairman Pooja Sethi is confident and believes this is a sign that the historically Republican state can still be flipped.

“People think that Texas is not in the game, but Texas is in the game,” Sethi said. “It was always in the game and we always treated it like it was in the game.”

The political scientist Dr. Rice University’s Mark Jones doesn’t agree, but says Texas could help them reach the seven battleground states that many experts believe will decide the election.

“They’re using Texas as a platform to then send their messages to key battleground states, Harris on abortion rights and Trump on Joe Rogan’s podcast,” Jones said.

Vice President Harris will attend the event in Houston, which will feature women affected by the state’s restrictive abortion laws. She is joined by Colin Allred, who is challenging Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

“Texas was specifically chosen as an example of what they thought a Trump America would become in terms of abortion rights,” Jones said.

Sethi says reproductive rights is an issue that resonates with voters on both sides of the aisle.

“This is the country Trump wants,” Sethi said. “Leave it to the state. Leave it to the state of Texas. We have seen people die or be close to death in the state of Texas.”

Former President Trump will be in Austin at the same time to appear on the podcast hosted by Joe Rogan, who has more than 14.5 million followers on Spotify and more than 17.5 million followers on YouTube.

“There are seven states in play, and they’re all on a knife’s edge, and every candidate has a realistic chance of winning in every single one of them,” Jones said. “That means the two candidates will give it their all in these battleground states.”

Macowiak believes his appearance is a smart move and hopes it reaches younger potential voters.

“Probably not the people who regularly voted in general elections,” Macowiak said. “If Trump can convince them, he can win over some of those votes, and that could be significant.”

Dr. Jones also expects both candidates will likely have some informal fundraising events, perhaps quick meetings with major donors and the like. No further official campaign stops have been announced by either candidate, but Harris is also expected to record a podcast with Texas author Brene Brown.