The final push for votes by Texas Democrats and Republicans in the race for U.S. Senate seat
After months of campaigning, all eyes will be on Election Night on Tuesday, with the U.S. Senate seat as the big political prize.
Ad Impact Politics reports taken altogether in both primaries show that spending and reservations on campaign ads have surpassed $122 million—a record for a Senate primary.
More than $95 million has been spent or reserved in the Republican primary alone, where 73% of that is supporting Sen. John Cornyn. More than $27 million has been spent or reserved in the Democratic primary alone, where 80% of that is supporting current State Rep. James Talarico.
Cornyn, who wants a fifth term, is facing Attorney General Ken Paxton and Houston Congressman Wesley Hunt in the Republican primary.
In the Democratic primary, Talarico and current Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett are vying for their party's nomination.
Democratic candidates' differing campaign styles
Talarico campaigned in the Dallas area last Wednesday and Thursday, making three stops in Dallas County, Crockett's home turf.
Crockett also received the endorsement from former Vice President Kamala Harris, who recorded phone calls urging Crockett's supporters to go vote on Election Day. The congresswoman made various stops in North Texas, including a stop in Arlington on Tuesday and then in Rockwall and various others on Friday.
Both Crockett and Talarico have embraced different messaging.
Talarico wants to build a big tent to unite disaffected Republicans, Independents, and Democrats. "We can't help anybody unless we win political power," said Talarico.
"The only way to do that is to bring working people together across all these divisions, partisan divisions, racial divisions, partisan divisions, racial divisions, cultural and religious divisions. We have to bring all these working people together if we hope to win this seat and take back power for those working people."
Crockett is campaigning as a proven fighter who has taken on President Trump and Republicans in Washington, D.C. "Right now, in this moment, people know they need a fighter in D.C," said Crockett.
"The reason people are so upset with so many Democrats is because they don't feel like they've been fighting. They don't have to wonder. They don't have to question. They know who I am on the federal level when it comes down to fighting for what matters most to Texans."
Various Texas Democrats tell CBS News Texas the Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate is very close and could go down to the wire on Election Night—and that it could go either way.
In the Real Clear Politics average of polls between Jan. 10 and Feb. 24, Crockett and Talarico are tied at 43.8% each. The latest poll by Chism Strategies and Blueprint, which was last week—after the highly publicized Stephen Colbert interview—gave Talarico a 12 percentage point lead over Crockett.
Cornyn, Paxton, Hunt left without Trump's endorsement
Cornyn's campaign released another highly critical ad against Paxton's values after his wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce, citing biblical reasons. Meantime, Paxton released an ad featuring his daughter praising her father as a family man.
As for Houston Congressman Wesley Hunt, he campaigned in Texas all week, including in Denton on Wednesday night.
"John Cornyn is one of two Republican incumbents the president has not endorsed," Hunt said. "I can tell you that had the President endorsed anybody when I waited eight months to get into this race, I wouldn't be here right now...I gave deference to John Cornyn. I gave deference to the White House. If he was unable to earn his support, well, then, that's when I got into this race."
In the Real Clear Politics average of polls between Jan. 10 and Feb. 26, Paxton leads Cornyn by nearly five percentage points, 35.5% to 30.8%. Hunt is in third at 19.8%.
SMU political science professor Matthew Wilson, like most analysts, believes this will end up in a runoff between Paxton and Cornyn.
Early voting numbers through Thurs. before election day
Early voting ended Friday, and the most up-to-date numbers were through Thursday, Feb. 26.
More people have voted in the Democratic primary than in the Republican primary statewide. Vote Hub says nearly 1.2 million people voted in the Democratic primary through Thursday, and just over one million people voted in the Republican primary through Thursday.
According to Republican political consultant Derek Ryan, the number of people who have a history of voting only in the general election and no voting history at all favored Democrats over Republicans. Through Tuesday, the number who voted in the Democratic primary far outnumbered those who voted in the Republican primary through Tuesday: more than 236,000 for the Democrats and more than 91,000 for Republicans.