President Donald Trump’s Republican party held on to the key state of Texas, but not before some tense moments, in a closely-fought contest. This marks the continuation of the 40-year winning streak for the party in the state that has 38 electoral votes and is vital to any party’s chance to rule the country.

The counting of votes in Texas was a virtual dead heat with Trump, 74, and Biden,77, neck-and-neck almost all through. At one point it was poised at 49.3% votes for each.

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At last count, President Donald Trump was ahead in 31 states and Joe Biden in 21 states. But the Democrats are marginally ahead in the electoral college with 225 votes against Trump’s 213. Electoral votes ultimately decide the winner in the US presidential race. A candidate needs a magic number of 270 out of 538 electoral college votes.

Donald Trump has won Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, and Biden has captured Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York

Since 1980, when Republican candidate Ronald Reagan stopped President Jimmy Carter’s re-election bid, Texas has voted for Republicans. In 2016, Trump beat his opponent Hillary Clinton in the state by polling 52 % votes over her 43 %. From 1845 (when Texas joined the American union as its 28th state) until 1976, the state voted for the Democratic party.

Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Howdy Modi’ rally was held in Texas in September 2019. It was seen as a proxy campaign event for Trump to help him woo Indian American voters