Senate Democrats are pouring millions of dollars into Sen. Colin Allred’s effort to unseat two-term incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. The announcement comes as the race becomes increasingly competitive.
Also, keep an eye on Tuesday night’s CBS News vice presidential debate between Republican Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio) and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz (Minnesota). Jack also listens to what voters have to say about the presidential election. Additionally, the State Fair of Texas can ban guns for most people after the Texas Supreme Court denied an emergency request from the attorney general’s office to overturn the ban. Jack Fink covers these stories and more in the latest episode of Eye On Politics. (Original air date: September 29, 2024)
big boost
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee announced late last week that it would invest millions of new dollars into North Texas Rep. Colin Allred’s Texas Senate campaign. Allred is running against incumbent Republican Ted Cruz, who was first elected to the Senate in 2012. The new funding from DSCC will be used to pay for television advertising. This will be in addition to the advertising paid for by Allred’s campaigns.
Real Clear Politics’ average of the last three polls shows Mr. Cruz leading by 5 points, 47% to 42%. One recent study came from the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation. According to the results, Cruz leads Allred by just three points, 48% to 45%. The Cook Political Report still rates the race as “likely R.”
Jack spoke with Dallas County Republican Chairman Retired Lt. Col. Allen West. Dallas County Democratic Party Chairman Kaldar Coleman talks about the Senate and Presidential elections and the upcoming CBS News Vice Presidential debate between Democratic Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. Ta. It will be broadcast for 90 minutes from 8pm on Tuesday, October 1st. CBS Evening News anchor and editor-in-chief Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan will moderate the discussion. You can watch the debate on CBS News Texas.
Watch Jack’s interview with Allen West and Kaldar Coleman here.
Dallas County Republican and Democratic Party Chairs Share Their Expectations for the Upcoming Vice Presidential Debate 18:06
Clash at vice presidential debate
With the only Vice Presidential debate set to be broadcast, we went to SMU to speak with Dr. Ben Vos, professor of debate and director of debate. He told Jack what he expected from the candidates as they faced off and what each needed to do to win.
Check out Jack’s interview with Dr. Ben Voss.
What debate professors are looking for in vice presidential debates 11:42
Battleground state tracking
Jack also continues to track polls in battleground states.
The Real Clear Politics polling average shows slight movement from last week.
Former President Donald Trump holds a 2-point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Arizona, a slight increase from last week.
In Nevada, Harris has slightly widened her lead over Trump, now leading by 1 point and 4 points.
Trump holds a 1-5 point lead in Georgia, down slightly from last week.
Harris’ lead over Trump in Wisconsin has narrowed slightly since last week, to 9 points.
In Michigan, he moved up slightly and is now 1.8 percentage points ahead of Trump.
Harris leads Pennsylvania by 9 points, down slightly from last week.
And in North Carolina, Mr. Trump has a little more headroom, leading Ms. Harris by 1 point and 3 points, compared to a nearly tied state last week.
listen to voters
Jack also heard voters talk about the presidential election when he went to the Plano Balloon Festival recently.
Watch Jack’s conversation with voters.
A walk with Jack Fink at the Plano Balloon Festival 03:49
fair fight
Big Tex is once again welcoming people to the Texas State Fair, and a new controversial gun ban will remain in place. That’s because on Thursday night, the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously, 9-0, against the attorney general’s emergency request to overturn the new notarization policy. Three of the state’s highest civil court judges criticized the attorney general for not taking a position on whether the fair, a private organization, has the authority to continue allowing firearms license holders to carry handguns. “This is a question that both law-abiding handgun owners and state fair operators deserve a clear answer,” the three justices wrote. “Further litigation may provide a clearer answer. “It’s a problem. But that’s not the problem.” The state’s emergency filing with this court shows that this court has ordered the state fair to not allow handguns at this year’s fair, even though the party seeking relief does not even allege that Texas law requires handgun possession. It is impossible to order permission to carry. Of course you should. ” Paxton said the city and fair cannot prevent Texans from carrying weapons in public if they have a concealed carry permit. But the fairgrounds leases real estate from the city and said it can set this new policy as a private nonprofit organization. The change came after three people were shot here last year. The city of Dallas said it had nothing to do with the fair’s policies. In a statement Friday, Attorney General Ken Paxton said, “This case is not over. I will continue to fight on the merits to protect Texans’ ability to self-defense, which is protected by state law. I intend to work with this Congress to protect law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights to public property, including a gun ban that explicitly prohibits type of litigation. ”
More from CBS News
jack fink
