Abbott, O’Rourke Win Texas Primaries

The Texas primaries were held on March 1, 2022, and the hotly contested Texas governor’s race is down to just two candidates: Republican Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke. Both candidates won their primaries easily, and now will begin campaigning for the general election in November. Texas has the earliest primary in the country, and many of the issues they have brought forward will likely be addressed by candidates in other races as well. 

Greg Abbott’s Political Platform

Greg Abbott has been the governor of Texas since 2015. Before that, he was the state’s longest-serving attorney general. His wife, Cecilia, is the first Hispanic First Lady of Texas. Abbott was paralyzed in 1984 and uses a wheelchair. Abbott has received endorsements from Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. However, he faced challenges from far-right members of his own party over his early responses to the coronavirus pandemic. They were critical of mask mandates and business shutdowns in Texas in the early months of the pandemic. He recently signed a restrictive abortion ban in Texas. Abbott is pushing for more restrictive immigration policies.

Abbott is also focusing on strengthening Texas’ borders with Mexico and ensuring that law enforcement is better funded and that they get training to improve their effectiveness. Abbott is against any efforts to defund police departments in Texas. He also wants to expand broadband internet access throughout the state and work to strengthen the Texas electric system.

Beto O’Rourke’s Political Platform

Beto O’Rourke is a former Texas congressman who represented his state as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. In 2018, he ran for U.S. Senate against Senator Ted Cruz, and even though he lost, he made national headlines for receiving the most votes for that seat of any Texas Democrat in history. He campaigned for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2020 but dropped out of the race early.

O’Rourke is well known for his positions on gun safety legislation, including mandatory buybacks of assault rifles and assault rifle bans. He promotes Texas voting changes that all for online and same-day voter registration. He also wants to expand the types of eligible voter identification allowed in Texas. He is pushing to change the energy system in Texas so that it won’t fail in extreme weather as happened last February, cutting power for many Texans. O’Rourke echoes the need for expanding internet access to all parts of Texas, so that rural communities  can be better able to recruit and retain people and economic investment.

If O’Rourke were to win, he would be the first Democrat to win the governor’s race in almost three decades. A recent poll from the University of Texas shows Abbott leading O’Rourke by ten points. The polling shows that Abbott has a substantial twenty-point lead among independents.

What Do You Think? One of the major issues at stake in the Texas election is how much influence parents should have over what is taught in public schools. Do you think that parents should be allowed to have input about what is taught in your classroom? Do you think parents should be able to decide what books are (or are not) available in your school’s library? Respectfully explain your opinion.