Abbott, O'Rourke spar over immigration, abortion and Uvalde shooting in debate [View all]
Source: Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto ORourke clashed Friday night over immigration, abortion and gun control in the only planned gubernatorial debate before the Nov. 8 elections.
Throughout the debate, Abbott tried to depict ORourke as an acolyte of Democratic President Joe Biden who would drive Texas to the left and who constantly flip-flopped on issues like police funding, immigration and energy policies. ORourke, for his part, said he wanted to prosecute the case against Abbott and the governors failures on issues like fixing the states energy grid, lowering property taxes and preventing school shootings.
The debate at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg kicked off with a discussion on immigration, which consistently ranks as one of the top issues for Texas voters.
Abbott touted the $4 billion the state has allocated toward border security, including funding to deploy thousands of National Guard troops and Department of Public Safety troopers to the southern border to apprehend the large number of migrants crossing into the state. But he noted that the state shouldnt be paying any money because the federal government should be stepping up to secure the border.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/30/texas-governor-debate-greg-abbott-beto-orourke/