Updated at 2 p.m.: Revised to include comment from the Colin Allred campaign.

WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence will visit Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions' district ahead of the November election as part of a determination that the longtime incumbent's campaign against Democrat Colin Allred is the top mid-term priority in Texas.

That's the word from Corey Lewandowski, senior strategist to Pence's political action committee.

"Pete's district is probably the most critical for us," he said Wednesday at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, taking measure of the ballot in Texas. "When you look at the race, you look at his opponent, and you look at where things are."

Lewandowski, who served as President Donald Trump's first campaign manager, didn't have details on the visit's timing. But he made clear that "you are going to see the vice president in that district."

"Pete Sessions ... understands how difficult it is in this environment," he said, noting the 11-term congressman's past role as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. "He's out campaigning hard."

Sessions spokeswoman Caroline Boothe said she didn't have details available on a Pence visit to the district. But she said she agreed with Lewandowski's assessment.

"Dallas, Texas, is home of the free enterprise system, and we want to protect that," she said, touting Sessions' record on jobs and economic growth. "A vote in the other direction completely derails that and would turn Texas into California."

Allred spokesman Hector Nieto countered that Sessions has "consistently failed to put the interests of North Texas first and has chosen to toe the party line," pointing to the ongoing effects of Trump's trade war and the GOP's efforts to repeal Obamacare.

"Knowing that, it's not a surprise Washington is swooping in to try and bail out their floundering candidate," he said.

The vice presidential attention would only further Pence's engagement in the Lone Star State.

His Great America Committee PAC has already donated to the campaigns of Sessions, Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, and Rep. Will Hurd, R-San Antonio. The vice president will also headline a fundraiser for Culberson in Houston later this month.

Those three congressional districts are the Republican-held seats in Texas where Hillary Clinton defeated Trump in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Lewandowski nodded at that dynamic, but also at Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, whom he called an "unexpectedly good challenger" to Sen. Ted Cruz. The strategist said Cruz is "going to win that race handily," but added "it's going to require us to put more effort into Texas."

"Which is where we don't want to be as Republicans," Lewandowski said, alluding to the state's standing as a GOP stronghold. "Because we're playing defense, and we're not playing offense."

Texas Democrats, banking on a blue wave in November, have also pushed the idea that they could mount real challenges in other traditionally safe Republican districts. That prospect has been buoyed by strong fundraising tallies posted by several Democratic candidates.

But Lewandowski said Pence, a former House member, would likely keep a narrow focus.

"I don't see us spending too much time in Texas on additional races," he said, stressing the attention being paid to Sessions, Culberson and Hurd. "Pete's race would be the No. 1 race for us right now."