Unusually tight races were expected Tuesday in Texas following a record-breaking three weeks of early voting, and Democrats were eyeing possible inroads to power in what has been the nation's largest Republican stronghold.

Nearly 10 million of the state’s 16.9 million registered voters had cast ballots in Texas before Election Day, with early voting extended because of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 18,000 people in the state. That surpassed the total number of votes from the 2016 general election.

The Texas House was in play for the first time in nearly two decades, while there is tighter than usual competition for multiple congressional seats in historically red districts.

In-person voting has been the main method of casting a ballot since Texas is one of just five states that did not dramatically expand mail-in voting this year because of COVID-19. Months of legal challenges from state and party officials have played out in the courts over who is eligible for a mail-in, absentee ballot and where they could be dropped off.

In Texas, voters must be 65 years or older; disabled or out of the county on Election Day and during early voting to apply for a mail ballot. Officials from the U.S. Postal Service warned the Texas Secretary of State’s office that given the state’s current ballot deadlines, they could not guarantee some ballots would make it to voters or be mailed in on time.

As late as Monday, a group of Republican activists were also fighting to halt drive-thru voting in Houston. A federal appeals court panel denied the request in a one-sentence, late-night ruling.

Here’s a look at some of the key races:

U.S. PRESIDENT

Following demographic shifts across the state, primarily in Texas’ most populous urban areas, the historically Republican state has seen tighter competition in the presidential race this year.

Democrats claim that economic struggles and healthcare issues highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic will make this the year that Texas turns blue, while Republicans maintain the risk of flipping the state is overstated.

In 2016, Donald Trump took Texas by a 9 percentage point margin, with most Democratic districts located in South Texas and major cities including Austin, Houston, Dallas, El Paso and San Antonio.

CONGRESSIONAL RACES

Democrat MJ Hegar conceded her bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Hegar called Cornyn at 8:20 p.m. Tuesday to concede, Cornyn spokesman Travis Considine said. The Associated Press has not yet called the race.

Cornyn had not faced a challenge like Hegar’s since being elected in 2002. Two years ago, Beto O’Rourke’s unsuccessful challenge against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was the closest Senate race the state has seen in 40 years.

Republican Ronny Jackson, Trump's former doctor, won the U.S. House race in the Texas Panhandle, defeating Democratic competitor Gus Trujillo.

Six U.S. House Republican incumbents announced they would not seek reelection this year, and Democratic hopefuls were looking to flip some of those seats.

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Acacia Coronado is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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Find AP’s full election coverage at APNews.com/Election2020.