Texas is now a toss-up state: top elections forecaster

As the 2020 presidential election draws to a close, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has a real chance to turn Texas blue.

The Cook Political Report, one of America's top elections forecasters, has switched its rating of Texas from "lean Republican" to "toss-up" state with less than one week to go before voting ends.

Cook analyst Amy Walter writes that the movement toward Biden in Texas has been significant enough that it can no longer be considered a safe state for President Donald Trump.

"Texas is a state that Biden doesn't need to win, but it is clear that it's more competitive than ever," she writes. "Recent polling in the state — both public and private - shows a 2-4 point race. That's pretty much in line with the hotly contested 2018 Senate race in the state where Sen. Ted Cruz narrowly defeated Rep. Beto O'Rourke 51 percent to 48 percent."

Adding to the Trump campaign's potential anxiety about Texas has been a turnout surge thanks to early and mail-in voting, Walter writes.

"A huge surge in early vote (as of October 26th, almost half of Texas' registered voters had already cast a ballot) suggests that we could see record turnout in a state that has added many new residents since 2016," she writes. "That also adds a level of uncertainty to the equation."