Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott and State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, shared some personal stories as they spoke to the Texas Classroom Teachers Association in Fort Worth on Thursday.
Education has been a very big theme on the campaign trail, and once again the candidates explained their visions while sharing stories about their past.
Davis spoke about how education motivated her, while Abbott talked about the accident that left him in a wheelchair. He went into his own educational history by showing the group his first grade report card had all A's except for a B-plus in writing.
Both candidates highlighted their plans if elected into office.
Abbott said Texas should be number one in the nation when it comes to education. He added that all students in third grade should be at grade level in math and reading, and he wants to add more resources for teachers.
Davis called for higher salaries for teachers, fewer standardized tests and universal prekindergarten. She took several shots at Abbott regarding testing. He fired back when we interviewed him after.
"At the core of his plan is more standardized testing for 4-year-olds," said Davis. "That is right. At a time when parents and teachers are crying out against overtesting, Greg Abbott is calling for more."
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"There is no basis in fact that I believe that," said Abbott. "I believe we should not have 4-year-olds taking standardized tests. Here is what we find, because really it is not just that one issue. What we find now, what we will find as we move toward Election Day, is that desperate candidates begin to throw out things that have no basis in fact."
In a University of Texas-Texas Tribune poll, Abbott is up 12 points. NBC 5 spoke to both candidates about the numbers.
"Polls are polls. The only one that matters is on Election Day, and I will be ready for Election Day," said Abbott.
"I know that some of the polls measuring likely voters can't really account for what I see on the ground. I am inspired by it," said Davis.
