Advertisement

newsPolitics

What Greg Abbott, Beto O’Rourke need to do in Texas governor’s race debate

Texans need to watch Friday’s matchup to gauge whether it will move the needle in the single-digit race.

Update:
12:15 p.m. Wednesday with information about how to watch the debate.

The debate Friday between Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke has political intrigue and the potential for gripping drama.

Texans should watch the matchup, despite it happening on a Friday night in the middle of high school football season, to gauge whether it will move the needle in what most polls show is a single-digit race.

Both candidates have experience in big-time debates. Abbott, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and attorney general, clashed with former state Sen. Wendy Davis twice before winning the 2014 governor’s race. Four years later, he had one debate against former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez en route to reelection.

Advertisement

In the 2018 Senate race, O’Rourke twice debated Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, the first being an explosive affair that could have helped turn the close contest to Cruz. O’Rourke also debated during his unsuccessful campaign for president.

Political Points

Get the latest politics news from North Texas and beyond.

Or with:

Friday’s debate in the Rio Grande Valley will be different from what Abbott and O’Rourke have faced in the past. The governor was heavily favored in his previous contests and didn’t have much on the line. O’Rourke, a former congressman, has to adjust his arguments to fit the role of Texas’ top executive, which is unlike the Senate post he sought four years ago or the presidency.

Both candidates are preparing for a tactical battle around a clear set of issues that they have been pounding on the campaign trail and in television commercials.

Advertisement

“The governor will show that O’Rourke is too extreme for Texas,” said Republican political consultant Matt Langston, who in 2018 was part of the group that consulted on Cruz’s Senate campaign. “Abbott’s argument is that Texas is on the right track. If you have the extreme Beto O’Rourke, Texas will absolutely be derailed and suddenly be on the wrong track.”

State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, prepped Davis for her rumbles with Abbott.

“He needs to be on offense,” Turner said of O’Rourke. “This election is a referendum on job performance, and Beto will make the case that Abbott has failed as governor. He’s failed on the grid, he’s failed on abortion, he’s failed on education and he’s failed on gun safety.”

Advertisement

The Friday debate in Edinburg will be broadcast by Nexstar Media Group and televised in English and Spanish in every media market in the state. Nexstar is partnering with KDAF-TV (CW 33) in Dallas-Fort Worth. A full list of partner networks is available online.

Britt Moreno of KXAN-TV, Nexstar’s Austin station, will moderate, and panelists will include Sally Hernandez of KXAN, Steve Spriester of KSAT-TV in San Antonio and me, the political writer for The Dallas Morning News.

In a nutshell, Abbott will attack O’Rourke on issues including border security, energy policy, policing and the policies of President Joe Biden, while O’Rourke will hammer the governor for failing to fix the power grid, as well as signing the state’s abortion ban and being unwilling to push policies that curb gun violence.

Here are three goals Abbott and O’Rourke should aim to meet during what will likely be their only debate.

Greg Abbott

Outline his vision for a third term

With the 2023 legislative session in view, Texas residents are probably curious about Abbott’s third-term agenda. There’s talk about the governor running for president in 2024, if he’s successful against O’Rourke. He seems to be in competition with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for national headlines related to their immigration tactics, including busing or flying migrants to Washington, New York, Chicago and Massachusetts’ Martha’s Vineyard.

Advertisement

As Abbott brags about Texas’ economic clout, he should also tell voters where he wants to take the state in what could be his final term. One of his goals has been meaningful property tax relief.

Bolster his standing with independents, moderate Republicans

Texas politics have lurched further right since Abbott’s 2018 reelection. A near-total ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest, a permitless carry law amid concerns over gun violence and an election law designed to mollify former President Donald Trump raise issues that concern some independents and moderate Republicans.

Throughout his career, Abbott has been able to avoid being labeled too extreme. But polls show O’Rourke is slightly leading the governor with independent voters. The Democrat will look to slash Abbott during the debate on these issues and others, so the governor will have to find ways to cast himself as unifying rather than divisive.

Advertisement

Abbott will also talk a lot about border security, a winning issue for his conservative base.

Tout his executive experience vs. O’Rourke’s

Abbott will portray O’Rourke as too liberal for Texas. He should also show how his executive experience as a former attorney general and governor gives him an advantage over the former congressman. The governor will probably question O’Rourke’s political motivation, given that it’s the El Paso Democrat’s third campaign in four years.

Advertisement

Beto O’Rourke

Label Abbott as too extreme, in the mode of Trump Republicans

When Abbott attacks O’Rourke as out of touch with Texas, the Democrat should flip the script and cast the governor as a national Republican with allegiance to Trump.

At the same time, O’Rourke must remind voters that historically, Texas Republicans and Democrats have disregarded national politics and often worked together on approaches that best serve the state. It’s why some former state lawmakers from both parties who become federal legislators are taken aback when they encounter the gridlock of Congress.

Advertisement

Be aggressive and fire back when cast as too liberal for Texas

In the first debate of the 2018 Senate race, O’Rourke didn’t answer Cruz’s punches and at times seemed unwilling to attack. As he’s done on the campaign trail, O’Rourke has to commit to aggressively prosecuting the case against Abbott and embrace confrontation.

Abbott is an underrated debater, and O’Rourke will need to match his intensity. He’ll also have to defend the governor’s claims that not only is he too liberal for Texas, but also that he’s trying to shift or obscure positions he took while trying to distinguish himself in a large field of progressive candidates for president.

Advertisement

Develop a unifying message around a set of key issues

O’Rourke is at his best when he makes clarion calls for Texas to come together to solve issues related to immigration, affordable health care, economic equality, education and greater participation in democracy. Though he should be on the attack, the Democrat should also make sure his appeals resonate with all Texans, including independents and Republicans.

Voters across the spectrum of Texas politics want to move away from the divisiveness of the Trump era. O’Rourke should signal that he’s an inclusive leader who can inspire residents across the state, not only Democrats.

Related Stories
View More