Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made a trip to Duncanville this week, for a 'Get Out the Vote' rally. Abbott has been campaigning throughout the state leading up to the March 1 primary.
“We have crowds like this as I criss-cross the entire state of Texas because Texans love the fact that I am stepping up and securing the border. They love the fact that I passed this law that prohibits defunding the police. They want a proven leader,” said Abbott.
Abbott said he isn't taking anything for granted. The latest poll numbers show him in a comfortable lead in his most competitive primary to date.
A UT Austin/Texas Politics Project poll of 375 Republican voters who plan to vote in the March 1 primary shows Abbott with 60% of the vote. Former State Republican Party Chairman Allen West with 15%, and Former State Senator Don Huffines with 14%. No other candidate received more than 5%.
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Abbott’s main opponents said he is not conservative enough.
“I just ask everybody these simple questions. Is the border secure? Are your property taxes going away? Do you have confidence in the elections? Are we winning the culture war? And Julie, the answer is no, no, and no,” said Huffines.
Huffines, who represented Dallas in the State Senate, puts securing the border and getting rid of property taxes at the top of his legislative priority list.
Former state Republican party chairman Allen West points to the border as a major problem that needs to be solved and lists other issues he plans to tackle if elected.
“Then you have other priorities. The medical freedom that Texans are concerned about. We need to make sure that we pass into law against these vaccine mandates and we need to do better for property tax relief, and then we need to do better for our education systems,” said West.
While both said they feel good where they are, Republican strategist Vinny Minchillo thinks Abbott has a clear path ahead.
“I really think that based on the polling we have seen that Abbott wins this without a runoff. There are very few undecided voters out there, and we are seeing Abbott between 55 and 60 depending on what poll you are looking at, and I think that is a pretty good place to be,” said Minchillo.
Voters are already casting their ballots, a few days into early voting. The Texas primary is on March 1.
Who is on Your Ballot?
See March 1 Primary Ballots, by county and party, below.
Democrat: Collin | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
Republican: Collin | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant | Party Propositions
Texas March Primary
IMPORTANT ELECTION DATES
Oct. 24 - First day of early voting
Nov. 4 - Last day of early voting
Nov. 8 - Election Day and the last day to receive a ballot by mail that is not postmarked (7 p.m.).
Nov. 9 (5 p.m.) - Last day to receive a ballot by mail that was postmarked by 7 p.m. on Nov. 8
