AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – President Donald Trump has won Texas by the thinnest margin of any Republican in decades.
Trump was headed Tuesday toward a single-digit victory over Democrat Joe Biden as historic turnout and suburban revolt around Texas’ booming big cities gave Republicans a rare sweat in America’s biggest red state.
Trump won Texas by 9 points in 2016 and all but took a win here for granted. He didn’t swing through Texas for campaign rallies or swamp television airwaves; that,as his conservative allies on the ground scoffed at Biden’s chances as a far reach.
Trump made a statement from his election watch party in reaction to the ongoing tabulation of votes in many states, calling it “fraud.”
“This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election,” the president said.
Votes are still being counted in several states.
“We want all voting to stop,” President Trump said.
But it’s unclear what he means in a country in which vote tabulations routinely continue beyond Election Day, and states largely set the rules for when the count has to end. Trump says “we want all voting to stop,” but the voting is over. It’s only counting that is taking place across the nation. No state will count absentee votes that are postmarked after Election Day.
Trump made comments from the East Room of the White House overnight, with millions of votes yet to be counted he claimed victory:
LIVE: President Donald J Trump https://t.co/J7hhaUPUf0
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) November 4, 2020
Democratic challenger Joe Biden’s campaign called Trump’s statement “outrageous, unprecedented, and incorrect.” The Biden campaign says it’s ready for any challenge.
Meantime, voters in Texas made their pick for president while holding negative views about the country’s direction. That’s according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the American electorate from The Associated Press.
The poll found the coronavirus pandemic was top of mind for voters, with almost two-fifths calling it the most important issue facing the nation.
