Texas Dems Pin Hopes On Women Voters To Turn State Blue

AUSTIN, TX — Texas voters as of Monday had cast more than 7 million ballots — the most in the nation — with women among the most prolific participants in the democratic process. In their quest to turn the state blue, state Democrats are pinning their hopes on the segment.

According to the office of the Texas Secretary of State, around 7.6 million residents had already voted. Amid the voting frenzy, state Democrats are keeping a close eye on Texas women making their voices heard — some for the very first time, officials noted.

Since early voting began on Oct. 13, nearly 4 million Texas women have voted early — shattering the previous record of 3.7 million in 2016 and 3.3 million in 2018 — state Democrats noted. Women are voting at a higher rate than men, as seen on the graph prepared by Texas Democrats below:

Graph provided by Texas Democrats.

Of particular interest to Dems is the level of voting among unmarried women — who historically have leaned Democratic — who are voting at an "astounding" rate compared to four years ago, party officials said. Unmarried women make up a third of Texans who voted in 2020 that did not vote in 2016, Democrat officials noted.

Graph provided by Texas Democrats.

In Harris County alone, women accounted for 56 percent of the vote through last week — nine points higher than in 2018, the Houston Chronicle noted. Similar trends are being seen across the state, according to the newspaper.

"Bottom line: Women are voting and women will be one of the key voting blocks that put Texas Democrats over the top," Texas Democrats wrote in an advisory. Texas Democratic Party Senior Brand Director Brittany Switzer expounded on the hope: “Women continue to power the Texas Democratic Party and will be a key to winning in November. There is still one week left of early voting. Texas women are ready to vote out Donald Trump and Texas Republicans. With strong Democratic women running up and down the ballot, Texas women will deliver our victory on Nov. 3."

She added: “The Texas Democratic Party strongly encourages every Texan to join our movement and make a plan to vote at MyTexasVotes.com today. We can fundamentally change this state and this country. Our time is now.”

Despite gains being seen across Texas during the early voting period, the quest to turn the state blue is still an uphill battle. Texas has long been a reliably red state, with the Legislature controlled by the GOP. The last woman governor — and one of only two female governors in Texas since Miriam A. Ferguson served two non-consecutive terms from 1925-27 and 1933-35 was Ann Richards, who served from 1991 to 1995.

Related story: Trump, Biden Tied In Texas: Quinnipiac University Poll

Yet Democrats are further buoyed in their visions of a blue Texas given the results of a recent Quinnipiac University poll showing the incumbent U.S. president tied in Texas with his Democratic challenger. According to the poll's findings released last week, Donald Trump and Joe Biden each garnered 47 percent of respondents asked who they are supporting for the office of president.