North Texas candidates kick campaigns into high gear on Labor Day in sprint for November election
NORTH TEXAS – Hundreds of AFL-CIO members in Dallas welcomed North Texas Congressman and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Colin Allred to their Labor Day breakfast. It marked the first of three labor-focused stops for Allred, with additional visits planned in Fort Worth and Waco.
"When you elect me to the U.S. Senate, you'll be electing a card-carrying union member," Allred said.
Recent polls have shown a two-percentage-point race between Allred and Sen. Ted Cruz, but analysts still believe the two-term incumbent Republican remains the favorite. Allred, however, told CBS News Texas on Monday that he's been in this position before.
"We saw in 2018 when I ran against Pete Sessions here, a 22-year incumbent, who had been unopposed in the previous election. No one thought we were going to win then. A lot of doubters still, but I'm confident in our state, in our people," Allred said.
At the breakfast, AFL-CIO members supported Allred and Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Oh, I'm very excited because we've got some powerful Democrats for the people, not for themselves," said Cathy Welsey of Dallas.
"We want Kamala Harris and Walz in there because we feel like they're more for us and they understand our struggles," Alberta Crawford of Dallas told CBS News Texas.
North Texas Republicans are also fired up. Hundreds of people attended the Collin County Republican Party Labor Day picnic in Plano. Among the speakers was Steve Kinard, who's running for the Texas House District 70 seat in Plano.
"We are going to keep Texas, Texas," Kinard said.
For Colby DeLeon, education is his top priority. He explained why he decided to attend the picnic for the first time.
"It's my kids' future, it's my future, it's everyone else's future. Honestly, we need to make America great again," DeLeon said.
Edna Brown, another Collin County Republican, said she's ready to vote in November.
"Very much energized. I think we need change," Brown said.
State Rep. Matt Shaheen of Plano and Frisco told CBS News Texas that Republicans are backing Sen. Cruz and former President Donald Trump.
"We want Trump back in the White House. Really concerned about Kamala Harris and about what four years would mean under her leadership. So, you've got a bunch of fired-up Republicans for November," Shaheen said.
For his part, Cruz is planning three campaign stops Tuesday, including Carrollton in North Texas, along with San Antonio and Houston.
If you plan on voting this year, make sure you're registered to vote by Oct. 7. To confirm you are registered, you can go to the state's website, VoteTexas.gov.