DESOTO, Texas — Beto O’Rourke told voters Saturday at a town-hall gathering that the way to move Texas forward is to dump Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in November’s election.
O’Rourke, the Democratic nominee for governor, said Abbott has failed Texans by not fortifying the state’s power grid, has done nothing to curb mass shootings and hasn’t corrected problems in the foster-care system. He said Abbott’s failures are highlighted by his unwillingness to call a special session on gun violence following the massacre of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
“Thirteen weeks in and he can’t be bothered to call a special session to save the lives of children,” O’Rourke said, minutes before a third-grade student named Zoe asked him what could be done to keep schools safe.
O’Rourke said Abbott, who is seeking his third term, was warned about the frailty of the electric grid before the 2021 storm that left millions without power and water. He added that Abbott has been in office for several mass shootings, and knew about problems in the state’s Child Protective Services department.
“They don’t write a campaign contribution check that is large enough,” he said, adding that Abbott is too divisive to be governor.
“In our Texas it’s you and me, all of us together, fighting for one another,” he said.
The race for Texas governor has become increasingly contentious. A poll by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler shows Abbott leading O’Rourke by 7 percentage points.
Abbott, who on Tuesday released his first television campaign ad, has been pounding O’Rourke, saying his proposals would cost jobs.
“From ending new drilling, ending all offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, raising taxes and royalty rates on oil and gas producers and instituting a cap-and-trade system, Beto O’Rourke is on a mission to eliminate oil and gas jobs in Texas,” said Mark Miner, Abbott’s campaign spokesman.
Last week the Abbott campaign also released a video called “Bad Mouth Beto” that points out that O’Rourke sometimes uses profanity.
Analysts expect the race to get even more heated as the calendar churns toward Election Day on Nov. 8.
About halfway through a 49-day campaign swing around Texas, O’Rourke has consistently bashed Abbott’s record, a departure from the more-gentle approach he had during his 2018 Senate race against incumbent Republican Ted Cruz.
According to O’Rourke’s campaign, about 900 people attended the DeSoto event, which was held at Disciple Central Community Church in one of the Dallas County’s highest-voting precincts.
“Those who are closely following state politics, or the decisions of this governor might understand that so many of the failures that we’re seeing are due to his failed leadership,” O’Rourke told The Dallas Morning News. “But I need to make sure that I really point that out and draw the contrast here.”
