Last week’s debate in the race for Texas governor between Gov. Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke offered each the chance to make closing arguments to a large television and digital audience.
Though some observers have said O’Rourke had his best debate since becoming a high-profile candidate in 2018, it wasn’t enough to stir what’s been a plodding pace, with Abbott, the Republican incumbent, maintaining a significant lead in most polls.
“One of the things that really sticks out is just how much continuity there is from where this race started several months ago,” said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas.
He said O’Rourke has argued that Abbott is responsible for all that’s wrong and all that hasn’t been done to move Texans forward. The issues the Democrat is pounding include curbing gun violence, fortifying the state’s power grid, restoring abortion rights for women, protecting voting rights, improving access to health care and retaining good teachers.
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In contrast, Henson said, Abbott is running on Texas’ strong points, including the economy, while casting O’Rourke as a liberal who would wreck the energy industry, exacerbate border security problems and partner with President Joe Biden to implement what the governor calls a socialist agenda.
Voters had heard it all before the debate.
“I don’t think either of them had a particularly bad night, but I didn’t see anything that really changed,” Henson said.
Texas News
News from around the state of Texas.
The debate marked Abbott and O’Rourke hitting the final turn in the race for governor. Now the finish line is in sight.
With just over a month before the Nov. 8 election, the race hinges on who will effectively turn out his party’s faithful voters.
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