Is the Republican stronghold of Texas turning blue?

Democratic canvasser Nasya Causey stands by the boot of her car, which is packed with election posters.

Her job in Irving, just north of Dallas in Texas, is to try to sway voters to go blue as they stream into the Valley Ranch Library to cast early ballots.

She has been on the campaign trail for Amber Givens, who is running for Dallas County Criminal District Attorney.

Ms Causey said she has noticed more interest in the Democrats than before.

Voters are asking her one question: is the candidate she's campaigning for a Democrat?

That is what they are looking for, she said.

"Any Republican is getting a run for their money," she added.

For decades, Democrats have tried to turn this Republican stronghold blue.

Could Texas state representative and seminary student James Talarico be the answer after years of false dawns for the party?

Polling shows that he is neck-and-neck with a Ken Paxton, who is endorsed by US President Donald Trump, in the race for a US Senate seat.

The former middle school teacher made his pitch on Tuesday by appealing to Texans struggling with rising grocery and fuel costs, while taking aim at billionaires and data centres.

He declared: "Texas is not for sale." He said: "Corrupt political deals have gutted our healthcare and sent premiums skyrocketing.

"We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis."

A victory by Mr Talarico could help put Democrats on a path to taking control of the Senate.

They need a net gain of four seats to do that.

Polling suggests they could also win back the House of Representatives.

If Democrats take control of both chambers, they would have greater power to investigate the president and his administration, and block parts of his legislative agenda.

"James Talarico is running a very good campaign, but Ken Paxton has had a lot of questions about his personal life and scandals that the Talarico campaign has been able to use," according to Philip Harold, professor of Politics at the University of Dallas.

Professor Harold said: "A lot has to happen for the Democrat to win.

"There [are] more Republicans in the state, so Republican turnout has to be depressed.

"We know Democrats are enthusiastic about this race, enthusiastic about this candidate.

"They will turn out, but how much is the president's unpopularity in Texas going to affect Republican turnout?"

President Trump has travelled to Texas numerous times on his midterm election tour, trying to energise Republicans to get out and vote for Mr Paxton and against his opponent who he has labelled "Talafreako".

Republicans have frequently targeted the Democratic nominee, labelling him a vegan who thinks that God is non-binary - Mr Talarico has acknowledged that he was being provocative with the latter statement.

He has also previously said that reducing meat consumption is the "moral thing to do" and "necessary to fight climate change".

With the midterm elections shaping up to be the most expensive in American history, Republican supporters are also pouring enormous amounts of money into the state.

Few are spending more than Texas resident Elon Musk, who has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into backing Republicans.

His biggest bet is in Texas, where he is helping boost Mr Paxton, who won the Republican primary against Senator John Cornyn after Mr Trump declined to endorse the incumbent.

"Attorney General Ken Paxton, he won the primary, so all Republicans, we're behind him," said Monty Montanez, chair of the Dallas County Republican Party, when asked about the debacle.

But if he loses, who is to blame?

Mr Montanez said: "We don't assign blame, right?

"We as a society, we need to come together, win, lose, or otherwise.

"We just need to respect and understand what the elections are, learn how to work together and just move forward together as a society."

Republicans insist they are still in the fight, despite the pressure of rising costs which has put the party on the back foot.

Mr Montanez said Texans have a decision to make: vote with their pockets, or their conscience.

He called it "a fundamental decision".

"What do you want for Texas? This is a turning point for us to decide which way we want to move the state," he said.

"Do we want to move towards open borders? Are we okay with boys playing in girls' sports?" he asked.

The message from the GOP may be resonating with some voters.

While this was not a scientific poll, conversations with voters in Dallas revealed mixed feelings about the US Senate race.

"[Ken Paxton] wants to make it where kids have a choice in regards to their sexual preference," said one woman.

Another woman said she was voting Democrat for the first time because she disapproved of the current administration.

Other men described Mr Talarico as a "creep" and a "nut".

A young woman said she was voting for Mr Talarico because he was not "MAGA" and seemed like he would "actually make some positive changes".

For all the enthusiasm among Democrats, the question is whether it will be enough to overcome the Republican advantage in Texas.

"If the election was held a month ago, Talarico would have won," said Professor Harold.

He said: "But Republicans had a midterm convention, the first midterm convention of any political party.

"They had it here in Dallas.

"They used it to raise a ton of money from donors in north Texas and elsewhere, and flood the airwaves with negative ads to support their candidates.

"So they're banking on those negative ads working and maybe they will."