Could Biden flip Texas? Democrats claim opportunity to turn state blue for first time in decades
The ruby-red state 'is not ready for them to take,' Republican Party of Texas Chairman Allen West tells 'Fox & Friends'
It’s been nearly half a century since a Democrat won Texas in a presidential election — and 2020 will be no different, Lt. Col. Allen West said Sunday.
Vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., campaigned in the Lone State over the weekend after the Cook Report, a leading nonpartisan political handicapper, changed its rating of the state from Lean Republican to Toss-Up.
TEXAS MOVED TO 'TOSS-UP' IN WHITE HOUSE RACE
Democratic strategists have been eyeing Texas this year, sensing a growing opportunity to win some of the 38 electoral votes, previously reserved for Republicans. But despite their best efforts, the ruby-red state is just "not ready for them to take," West told "Fox & Friends" on Sunday.
"When President Trump comes out here and as he has been before, you get an incredible response," West, who serves as chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, explained. "Rio Grande Valley, you had tens of thousands of people out all through the valley, speaking for President Trump, rallying for President Trump."
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's positions on fracking and the Second Amendment put him at odds with Texans who oppose his "progressive, socialist, leftist policies," West said.
"Vice President Biden said he wanted to transition away from oil and gas industry. That's not gonna work here in Texas," he asserted. "Kamala Harris says she wants to take away the Second Amendment by way of executive orders. That is not going to work."
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The Biden campaign reportedly canceled multiple events over the weekend after supporters of Trump's trailed the Biden-Harris campaign bus as it traveled through central Texas, displaying Trump flags and banners, according to videos and photos posted to social media.
The most recent polls indicate Trump with a slight edge over Biden that's within the margin of error.
"There is no way they're in flat-footed tie here in Texas because you don't see the response," West said. "As a matter of fact, the reason why the Biden-Harris bus is leaving, they canceled 14 more of visits here in Texas because you have more Trump supporters showing up at their rallies than you had for those folks with Biden and Harris," he went on.
"We've seen out here in Texas is a little bit close to 9.7 million votes have already been cast. That is the largest that we've seen. It is more already than 2016, and Republicans have a six percentage point lead over Democrats. That does not include the unaffiliated voters," West explained, adding "we feel very strong here in Texas going into Election Day."
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