Happy Monday! There are no sweet lies.

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high around 80.

🏈 Situational awareness: The 2-4 Cowboys play in their first Monday night game of the season against the 2-4 Eagles.

• The game kicks off at 7:15pm in Philadelphia and airs on ABC and ESPN.

Today's newsletter is 930 flying words — a 3.5-minute read.

In-person early voting turnout in several large Texas counties —including Dallas County — is surpassing turnout during the first week of voting in 2018, when the state last saw a high-profile Senate race.

Why it matters: It's hard to draw hints from early voting as to which way the election will tilt.

• Polls have suggested close statewide races, starting with the race for U.S. Senate between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton, and for governor, pitting Republican incumbent Greg Abbott against Democrat Gina Hinojosa.

Flashback: Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz defeated Democrat Beto O'Rourke by 2.6 percentage points in 2018, the closest a Democrat has come to winning a statewide election since the 1990s.

• O'Rourke appeared to benefit from unusually high turnout for a Texas midterm election.

State of play: Democratic enthusiasm suggested by polling is showing up at the ballot box in some key counties, according to voting data collected by the Texas Secretary of State's Office.

• Turnout in Dallas (23%) and Travis (25%) counties, with rich troves of Democratic votes, is outpacing turnout in key counties with a history of voting Republican, including Montgomery (18%), outside Houston, and two counties where President Trump is scheduled to appear tomorrow: Nueces (18%) and Lubbock (20%).
• Turnout in Harris and Bexar counties was 20% and 17% respectively.

Caveat: The state's figures might not be fully updated in some cases.

What they're saying: If turnout in Republican counties lags turnout in Democratic strongholds by midweek, "then that's where the warning bells will be going off within the Abbott campaign in particular," Mark Jones, political science professor at Rice University, tells Axios.

The intrigue: Tarrant County, a battleground in recent elections and a key county once again, has seen high turnout (24%) so far.

• Jon Taylor, political science department chair at UT San Antonio, tells Axios if the county goes blue, it would be "all over for Republicans."

The bottom line: "You're seeing a lot of enthusiasm among Democrats," Taylor says. "But at the same time … there's a lot of unknowns here."

🗳️ Your Axios Dallas reporters do the work so you can quickly understand what matters when you head to the polls.

📍 Become a member today and support local journalism this election season.

Thank you for reading and supporting local election coverage.

North Texans feeling lighter in the wallet after flying out of DFW Airport shouldn't expect airfares to come back down anytime soon.

Why it matters: Airlines across the nation are adjusting to rising fuel prices by hiking fares and offering fewer economy seats. Even if that leads to fewer tickets sold, airline executives are betting on passengers who don't mind paying more.

Zoom in: Fort Worth-based American Airlines reported third-quarter revenue of $16.3 billion, a 19.3% increase from last year.

• American had an adjusted net loss of $182 million, noting a fuel bill that was nearly 70% higher.
• Dallas-based Southwest, which dropped its free checked bags and open seating policies in January, welcomed more passengers than expected in the third quarter even as fares rose 26.9% to an average of $232.
• Southwest cut its profit forecasts for the fourth quarter, citing rising fuel costs.

The big picture: American CEO Robert Isom said the fuel price spike "has just been a catalyst to allow us to realize that there is value" in the strong demand from customers willing to pay more.

• American said in August it would add premium seats and restore ‌seat-back entertainment screens on some jets.
• Southwest is offering new lounges and credit card perks, high-speed connectivity across its fleet and new international routes.
• "Things that are important to all customers — but certainly important to our business customers — will continue to come online at a very rapid pace in 2027," Southwest CEO Robert Jordan said on Thursday's earnings call.

🎵 The Granada Theater in Lower Greenville is closing after 80 years. (Dallas Observer)

😩 Traffic tops North Texans' complaints, according to a new survey. (DMN)

🎤 Miranda Lambert will perform during halftime of the Cowboys' Thanksgiving game at AT&T Stadium. (Billboard)

🐾 North Texas startup Warhound, partnering with Dallas-based biosciences firm Colossal, has raised $200 million to genetically modify military dogs. (WFAA)

⭐️ The Cowboys cheerleaders have unionized in a longstanding push for better wages and benefits. (The 19th)

California-based Archer Aviation has announced plans for an air taxi network linking airports in Dallas, Austin and Houston to business hubs.

Why it matters: The company says its all-electric aircraft could replace 60- to 90-minute drives with 10- to 20-minute flights, offering travelers a way to bypass traffic.

Zoom in: The planned network in North Texas will connect airports — DFW Airport, Love Field, Addison Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport, Meacham International Airport and Fort Worth Alliance Airport — with major business hubs like the Dallas Star in Frisco Station.

What's next: Archer, which has not announced launch dates or ticket prices, plans to operate in Texas through a federal electric aircraft pilot program. The company has also struck a deal with Boeing.

This newsletter was edited by Bob Gee.

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🤸‍♀️ Naheed is off again.

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