HOUSTON — President Joe Biden made a stop in Houston on Thursday.
The president arrived just after 11:50 a.m. at Ellington Field and was greeted by Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo before heading to River Oaks for a private fundraiser.
Before his stop in Houston, Biden went to two fundraisers in Dallas.
“There’s the old saying, ‘Why rob the banks? That’s where the money is,'" said Rice University Political Science professor Mark Jones. "In Texas, the money is in Dallas and in Houston.”
However, Jones believes the money will be spent almost entirely outside Texas.
“This is not about trying to flip Texas," he said. "Donald Trump is going to win the election in Texas. The only question is what margin.”
Jones expects dollars raised in Texas will be spent in six battleground states. He expects Biden's ads will focus on the economy and abortion. Other topics will be trickier to navigate.
The war in Gaza drew protesters outside Biden's fundraiser event in Houston. There's also the border, which is making headlines again with SB4.
“It’s going to be a problem probably for both candidacies," said Jason Whitely, the co-host of the Texas politics podcast, "Yall-itics." "Trump has to explain why they didn’t pass the bipartisan bill and Biden has to explain why he hasn’t done more in the previous three years.”
Whitely believes this won't be the last Texas trip for Biden or Trump before November.
“There’s a lot of money to be had in Texas," he said.
CNN reported Biden outraised Donald Trump last month by 21.3 million to 10.9 million.
Both experts said money doesn't guarantee a win but it gives each candidate more ability to reach voters in a race that polls suggest could be close.
Who traveled with President Biden on Air Force One to Houston:
- Bruce Reed, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
- Annie Tomasini, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
- Natalie Quillian, Assistant to the President & Deputy Chief of Staff
- Karine Jean-Pierre, Assistant to the President & Press Secretary
- Vinay Reddy, Assistant to the President & Director of Speechwriting
- Ben LaBolt, Assistant to the President & Director of Communications
- Ryan Montoya, Assistant to the President & Director of Scheduling & Advance
- John Kirby, Assistant to the President & White House National Security Communications Advisor
- John McCarthy, Deputy Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor for Political Engagement
- Ashley Williams, Deputy Assistant to the President & Senior Advisor to the President & Director of Strategic Outreach
- Marc Gustafson, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for the White House Situation Room
- Rachel Chiu, Special Assistant to the President & Chief of Staff for the Office of Political Strategy