The nominees for governor of Texas, Greg Abbott (R) and Wendy Davis (D), are not a surprise. Each candidate is highly favored within his or her respective party. The primary election for governor was not exciting. However, the race for governor will be a close one. Consider the facts as you examine these candidates for the upcoming election.
Davis got her claim to fame with an 11 hour filibuster in the Texas Senate. She was arguing against a controversial abortion bill, which would ban abortions in Texas after 20 weeks of gestation and required that clinic doctors have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The bill was eventually passed in a special session called by Gov. Rick Perry. According to an article in The Dallas Morning News, Davis has since tempered her disagreement with the 20 week ban. She is still a strong supporter of a woman’s right to choose. Davis’ campaign is focused on education and the Texas economy.
Abbott is the current Texas attorney general with a long law career behind him. He is also a paraplegic. At 26, Abbott was hit by a tree while running and became partially paralyzed. He has been using a wheelchair ever since. Abbott’s campaign touts him as a conservative candidate. One of his main goals is to end Obamacare. Other talking points of the campaign are gun rights and defending traditional values and religious beliefs.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a real campaign without a few scandals. Both Abbott and Davis have experienced public opinion set backs in their primary campaigns.
In January, The Dallas Morning News published an article that pointed out some blurred facts in Davis’ life story. Davis had been touting a story about rising up from poverty to attend Harvard Law. She claimed she was self-made and had little support from others on her journey. The Dallas Morning News revealed that Davis’ second husband, Jeff Davis, helped pay her tuition to Harvard. Being a Democrat in a very conservative state, Davis received a lot of backlash for this revelation. Eventually, Greg Abbott stated that the controversy should be set aside so the candidates can focus on real isses. Now, it seems this issue is completely behind Davis, and her campaign appears to not have taken a significant hit.
Recently, Abbott was campaigning with Ted Nugent, a conservative country singer. Nugent took the opportunity to throw insults at President Obama, calling him a “subhuman mongrel.” As expected, both Nugent and Abbott received backlash. A The Dallas Morning News article stated that Republican U.S. Sentor Rand Paul urged Nugent to apologize. Following the incident, Abbott defended his campaigning with Nugent (as published by TheHuffington Post), saying that it was better for him to be associated with the country star than for Davis to be associated with the president. Being a stauch Republican in Texas, Abbott’s campaign does not seem to have suffered much from this incident.
According to polls listed on Real Clear Politics, Abbott is up by about 12 points in the state. One poll on the site claims that he is only up by six points. This is a little surprising, considering that Texas has had Republican governors since 1995. However, Texas has also had 39 Democratic governors since joining the union. Will Texans continue to vote Republican or go back to its Democratic roots? We’ll all find out on election day.
Aguirre is a sophomore majoring in political science and journalism.
