Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) and his Democrat opponent Beto O’ Rourke failed to see eye to eye during their first and only televised debate.
As they both fight for the governor’s seat, the candidates painted each other as being out of touch with the issues the state faces.
The one-hour debate covered a wide range of topics including the crisis at the Southern border, the deadly Uvalde school shooting, gun violence, and abortion.
The first line of questions was on immigration. This comes as Abbott has made headlines in recent months for shipping illegal migrants out of Texas and to Democrat-run cities such as Washington D.C. and New York City so they can see firsthand what kind of problem it has become.
“Beto just wants to perpetuate the open border policies and mischaracterize exactly what's going on,” Abbott said, adding “he refuses to acknowledge that the city of El Paso because they were so overwhelmed by Joe Biden's open border policies, they too are having to bus migrants out of their communities because they have no way of keeping them there.”
Abbott also took the opportunity to criticize President Joe Biden’s lack of help at the border.
When asked whether more money should be given to Operation Loan Star, Abbott said “We shouldn’t have to allocate any money for it because this is all because Joe Biden failed to do the president’s job to secure the border…We’re only having to do that because of Joe Biden’s failure and because it would be the same pathway that Beto would take us down.”
Abbott then opened old wounds, calling out O’ Rourke’s failed attempt to win the White House while also not following through on promises made to voters.
“He’s flip-flopped on the border issue. He’s flip-flopped on the energy issue, such as energy jobs and the Green New Deal. He’s flip-flopped on defunding the police. Whether it’s one issue or another, he keeps changing positions,” Abbott said.
The political opponents also aimed to paint each other as extremists when it comes to abortion.
“Beto’s position is the most extreme because he not only supports abortion of a fully developed child to the very last second before birth, he’s even against providing medical care for a baby who survives an abortion. He is for unlimited abortion at taxpayer expense,” Abbott argued.
O’ Rourke disagreed saying, “that’s not true. It’s completely a lie…I never said that. And no one thinks that in the state of Texas. He’s saying this because he signed the most extreme abortion ban in America. No exception for rape, no exception for incest.”
The debate comes at an important time as polls show O’ Rourke is trailing behind Abbott as the elections round the corner.