Trump, Harris to Hold Dueling Events in Texas to Spotlight Key Issues

Trump will focus on border security in Austin while Harris will advocate for abortion access in Houston, sharing the stage with Beyoncé.

HOUSTON, Texas—As the 2024 presidential election enters its final stretch, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will hold dueling campaign events in Texas, a Republican stronghold, on Friday, focusing on their core messages.

Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, will be in Houston to discuss abortion rights at a campaign rally, where superstar singer Beyoncé, a Houston native, is expected to take the stage.

Trump, the Republican nominee, will travel to Austin, Texas, where he will hold a press conference at 12:30 p.m. local time at a private jet terminal to discuss border security and illegal immigrant crime.

Joe Rogan, host of The Joe Rogan Experience, will also record a session with Trump for the world’s number-one podcast while the former president is in Austin.

Trump’s decision to hold a press conference in Austin came after the Harris campaign’s unexpected move to hold a rally in the deep red state.

“More illegal immigrants have been encountered at our nation’s borders under Harris and Biden than all two-term presidents,” the Trump campaign said in an Oct. 23 statement. “Despite their empty promises of a ‘fair and humane immigration system,’ Harris’ open-border policies are far from compassionate—they’re lethal. Texas has seen the consequences firsthand.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will accompany Trump during the event.

In Houston, Harris will support Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred, who’s trailing Cruz in the polls. Cruz is 4.2 percentage points ahead of Allred, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average as of Oct. 24.

Willie Nelson, a country legend from Abbott, Texas, is also expected to attend Harris’s event in Houston.

A recent Wall Street Journal poll, which surveyed 1,500 registered voters between Oct. 19 and Oct. 22, showed Trump leading Harris 47 percent to 45 percent. The survey also found that the economy is the top issue for voters, with 25 percent identifying it as the most important concern, followed by immigration at 23 percent, and abortion at 16 percent.

The abortion issue is central to Harris’s platform and she chose Texas due to the state’s restrictive laws. The event is expected to feature women who have been impacted by these restrictions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Passage of a national abortion law would be difficult as it would require 60 votes in the Senate and a majority of the House. When asked about this during a CNN town hall on Wednesday evening in Pennsylvania, Harris suggested changes to the filibuster.

“I think we need to take a look at the filibuster, to be honest with you,” Harris said, suggesting eliminating the 60-vote threshold rule in the Senate.

“This is probably one of the most fundamental freedoms that we as Americans could imagine, which is the freedom to literally make decisions about your own body,” Harris said.

Beyoncé was expected to attend the Democratic National Convention in August, where she was rumored to perform ahead of Harris’s nomination acceptance speech. She did not show up. Nevertheless, the Grammy-winning singer granted the vice president permission to use her song “Freedom.” Harris has been using the song at her campaign rallies.

On Thursday, Harris campaigned in the crucial battleground state of Georgia, sharing the stage for the first time with former President Barack Obama. Singer Bruce Springsteen performed during the event.

According to the RealClearPolitics average as of Oct. 24, Trump is pulling ahead in all seven battleground states, which are likely to determine the winner of the November election.

In Georgia, Trump is 2.2 percentage points ahead. He also has a 1.5-point lead in Arizona and a thin lead in other battleground states, including North Carolina (0.8 points), Nevada (0.7 points), Pennsylvania (0.6 percent points), Wisconsin (0.2 points), and Michigan (0.2 points).