For the first time in nearly four decades, Democrats could win Texas as recent polling shows a tightening race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Though the Lone Star State has not voted for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976, some are calling Texas a swing state as new polling shows Trump with a less than five point lead over Clinton, according to Real Clear Politics average of major polls.
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By comparison, in the 2012 presidential election, Texas wasn’t even close; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney beat President Barack Obama by nearly 16 points.
Texas accounts for 38 electoral votes, the second largest next to California, and a win for Clinton could prove fatal for the Trump campaign.
A new Texas Tribune/YouGov poll puts Trump’s lead in the state at just three points over the Democrat nominee. A CBS tracking poll released Sunday also showed Clinton was down three points.
“I think that Texas is competitive this year,” Brendan Steinhauser, GOP operative in Texas, told Poltico. “I think it’ll be much closer than usual. I think it’s because of the Trump factor.”
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Predictions that Texas could turn from red to blue have been ongoing for months, as the Republican candidate’s caustic comments on Hispanics – including the “Bad Hombres” quip during the final presidential debate – could motivate Latino voters to vote for Clinton.
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Major conservative newspapers including the Dallas Morning News have also endorsed Hillary Clinton. The Morning News wrote a scathing denouncement of Trump saying his “values are hostile to conservatism.”
“Trump plays on fear — exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism and misogyny — to bring out the worst in all of us, rather than the best,” the editorial board said.
And just as Texas appeared to be turning against the GOP, Trump said Thursday that people were complaining of long lines in the state.
“A lot of call-ins about vote flipping at the voting booths in Texas,” Trump tweeted, without pointing to any actual reports. “People are not happy. BIG lines. What is going on?”
The Republican could be referring to an allegation from a woman who posted on Facebook that she voted for Republicans on her ballot, although a summary of her votes showed the Hillary Clinton-Tim Kaine ticket was checked off too.
Election officials have said the machines aren’t malfunctioning, and that some voters may be inadvertently making errors.
Trump has claimed the vote nationwide may be soiled by widespread voter fraud, but has not provided evidence to back up that claim.
Tim O’Hare, chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party, told a local CBS affiliate that voters are incorrectly using the voting machines.
“We don’t think there’s fraud inside the machine or software glitches,” he said.
*With files from The Associated Press
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