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Chris White | Reporter of energy
Millions of Texans voted early before Tuesday's elections, while Republican Senator Ted Cruz pushes his Democratic opponent, Rep. Beto O'Rourke.
More than 4,514,930 Texans voted in person throughout the early voting period in the 30 counties where most of the state's registered voters live. In other words, about 40% of the 12 million registered voters in these counties voted.
Advance voting in these countries has exceeded the turnout in the 2012 presidential election. Data compiled by the Texas Tribune also show that turnout after 12 days of advance voting in these 30 counties also exceeded the participation rate of the 2014 mid-term election.
Data from polls in Texas are omnipresent, with Cruz in the lead, with nine points, ahead of O'Rourke El Paso by two points. However, according to some experts, O'Rourke is probably facing a much more difficult task. He will need to select nearly 20% of Cruz's GOP base to win the elections, wrote James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project, in an analysis published in October.
The data compiled during the primary elections seem to corroborate Henson's position. The Washington Post, Fox News and others, reported in March that more than 885,000 people in Texas had voted early or by correspondence in the state's most populous counties, which represented an increase of 50% compared to 2014 – the previous record of the Democratic Party in the Lone Star State counted 592,000 people.
US Representative Beto O'Rourke (D-TX), a US Senate candidate, climbs onto a park bench during a campaign rally in Dallas, Texas, United States, November 2, 2018. REUTERS / Mike Segar
Democratic voter turnout rose 84 percent in the primaries compared to four years ago, but Republicans added to their record numbers in 2014, according to data from the secretary of state's office. The GOP participation rate was the highest since mid-2010. (RELATED: Beto O'Rourke fades as the ballot box continues to put Ted Cruz in the foreground)
Republicans largely outnumbered Democrats in the polls despite strong turnout (1.54 million to 1.04 million), suggesting that O'Rourke and Lupe Valdez, who are running to overthrow Republican Governor Greg Abbott, have almost insurmountable chances as Tuesday approaches. Neither candidate was considered a formidable opponent during the primary season for Cruz and Abbott.
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