Election Day: What races are we seeing at the polls in Texas and when can we expect votes to be counted?

Democrats in Texas will once again wait until Election Day to see if they can win a statewide race this year after three decades of losses to Republicans.

They are pinning their hopes on the U.S. Senate, where Republican incumbent Ted Cruz faces a challenge from U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker and civil rights lawyer who gave up a competitive U.S. House seat to take office in 2018 year.

With so many Democrats defending Senate seats across the country, Texas is one of the few states with a Republican senator in a competitive race. Spending on the contest exceeded $100 million, dwarfing the money spent on the Texas presidential election, according to AdImpact, which tracks advertising spending.

It’s been 30 years since Democrats won a national race in the Lone Star State, but it’s not for lack of trying. In 2002, Democrats were excited to create a “dream team” of candidates for Senate, governor and lieutenant governor in hopes that a racially diverse slate would attract a new generation of Texas voters who could flip the state. They didn’t.

As recently as 2018, Democrat Beto O’Rourke broke fundraising records in his race against Cruz. He lost. Two years later, Democrats hoped MJ Hegar would ride O’Rourke’s momentum and defeat Sen. John Cornyn. She also lost.

No Democrat has won Texas in a presidential election since Jimmy Carter in 1976, although Bill Clinton came close to winning three-way contests in both 1992 and 1996. A surprise victory in Texas by Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris would all but end former Republican President Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House.

Texas has 38 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, but only three districts – all in South Texas – are considered competitive.

In the state’s 28th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar is seeking re-election after being indicted on bribery and money laundering charges earlier this year. In the neighboring 34th District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez will face Republican Mayra Flores in a rematch of the 2022 contest, which Gonzalez won by about nine percentage points. In the Rio Grande Valley, Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz will again face 2022 Democratic challenger Michelle Vallejo in the 15th District.

Here’s what to expect from the 2024 elections in Texas:

Election Day

November 5th.

Poll closing time

8:00 pm and 9:00 pm ET Texas spans two time zones, so most of the state will begin reporting results while some voters in a few western counties vote before 9:00 pm ET.

Presidential electoral votes

40 awarded to the state winner.

Key races and candidates

President: Harris (Democrat) vs. Trump (Right) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (Green).

US Senate: Colin Allred (R) vs. Ted Cruz (R) and one other.

Other races of interest

U.S. House of Representatives, State Senate, State House of Representatives, State Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, Railroad Commissioner, State Board of Education.

Past presidential results

2020: Trump (R) 52%, Biden (R) 47%, AP Race: Wednesday, November 4, 2020, 1:06 am ET.

Pre-election voting

Votes cast before Election Day 2020: About 87% of total votes.

Votes cast before Election Day 2022: About 68% of total votes cast.

The Associated Press does not make predictions and will announce a winner only when it determines there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race is not called, AP will continue to cover any newsworthy events, such as candidate concessions or claims of victory. However, AP will make it clear that it has not declared a winner and explain why.