In Harris county, Beto ran only a point behind Biden in 2020. What’s happening in Texas is that the suburban Republicans aren’t RINOs as much as in other states. My suburban/exurban county (a good chunk of which is farms) voted for both McCain and Romney. But Biden did better here than he did in Harris County, even as Larry Hogan win the county by 38 points. Democrats can’t flip Texas without getting that suburban vote.
Beto was (and is) damaged goods politically; I voted for him but figuratively held my nose doing so.