Texas opened early voting. The Senate seat can decide the chamber.

AUSTIN — Early voting in Texas began Monday and runs through Oct. 30, fifteen days before the Nov. 3 midterms. The New York Times marked the opening as the start of the vital early-voting period in a Senate race that can decide which party controls the chamber. The Republican nominee is Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Democrat is state Rep. James Talarico of Austin. A Democrat has not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994. CBS19, reporting the start of voting, said a CBS News poll showed a tight contest, with Talarico holding a slight lead. This desk is not printing a margin the poll story did not give.

Paxton opened an 18-day bus tour. Talarico opened a tour of his own. No debate has been set. The Texas Tribune has reported that Paxton's campaign promised a debate and has not agreed to a date. Last week the secretary of state's office put statewide registration at 19,041,684, up 2.2 percent from the November 2024 general election. In Denton County, ballots can be cast at 54 early-voting sites. The same morning, The Washington Post, using the Cook Political Report, said the House battlefield has widened into districts that had been treated as safe for Republicans: 46 races to watch, 21 of them toss-ups.

Texas continues to see strong voter registration numbers.

The photograph is Talarico speaking, a microphone in one hand, the other hand open, people in front of him with their hands up. It is the candidate on the stump in the final weeks, not a line at a polling place this morning, and it is not Paxton. The two of them are not in the same frame.