As the summer heat begins to wane and Labor Day approaches, Texas finds itself on the cusp of what could be the most tightly contested statewide elections in over three decades. Tuesday, November 5th, marks the date when Texas voters will have the opportunity to make history, with races that could elect America’s first female President, Texas' first African American U.S. Senator, and Texas' first African American woman to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

A fresh poll, conducted jointly by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University, has sent shockwaves through the political landscape. The survey, which sampled a broad cross-section of likely voters across the state, indicates that Vice President Kamala Harris has made substantial inroads into former President Donald Trump’s once-commanding lead in Texas. The numbers show that Houston’s own U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is now clinging to a razor-thin 2.1 percentage point lead over his challenger, U.S. Congressman Colin Allred.

This poll suggests that if the election had taken place in August, Texas would be witnessing the closest presidential race since 1992, when then-incumbent President George H. W. Bush squared off against Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. Furthermore, Allred’s narrowing of the gap with Cruz is significant; it’s even closer than the margin by which Beto O’Rourke nearly toppled Cruz in 2018, coming within just 2.5 points.

Should the current trends continue, with Trump’s decline and Harris’s ascendancy, Allred could break a 36-year Democratic drought by becoming the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Lloyd Bentsen’s 1988 victory. Bentsen, who ran for Vice President alongside Mike Dukakis, famously benefited from a unique Texas law allowing him to run for both Senate re-election and the vice-presidency simultaneously—a provision originally crafted when Lyndon Johnson was tapped as JFK’s running mate.

Allred’s potential victory would also mark a historic moment, making him the third African American U.S. Senator elected from the South and only the seventh in U.S. history. The former Baylor Bear and Tennessee Titan, who traded his NFL career for a role as a civil rights lawyer and federal legislator, is no stranger to political upsets. In 2018, he successfully unseated long-time Republican incumbent Pete Sessions in the Dallas suburbs, a feat mirrored by fellow Democrat Lizzie Fletcher’s victory over John Culberson in Houston.

Meanwhile, Judge Chika Anyiam, also hailing from Dallas, is making waves in her bid for a seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Armed with a wealth of judicial experience, Anyiam is the only candidate in her race who is a Board-Certified Criminal Law specialist, a credential awarded by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Should she win, Anyiam would make history as the first African American woman to serve on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Anyiam’s path to the general election was not without drama. Her opponent in the general election was a candidate promoted by former President Trump at the behest of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who sought to prosecute Beaumont's first African American woman sheriff, Zena Stephens, for election fraud—a case dismissed by Judge Michelle Slaughter and her colleagues. This ruling earned Anyiam respect on the general election ballot, where her reputation for independence, integrity, and intelligence has made her a formidable contender.

Houston Style Magazine readers, as Texas barrels towards this historic election, the stakes have never been higher. With the possibility of electing trailblazing leaders at both the state and national levels, Texans are poised to shape the future of not just the Lone Star State, but the nation.