More than two months before the Nov. 8 elections, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott accepted a debate with Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke that will take place Sept. 30 on the UTRGV campus in Edinburg.
The governor’s campaign announced Aug. 9 that Abbott, a Republican who is serving his second term in office, accepted an invitation from Nexstar Media Group, America’s largest local television and media company, to debate O’Rourke in the Rio Grande Valley.
The candidates will meet for an hourlong debate Sept. 30 at UTRGV, according to the website.
“Great to see that Abbott has finally agreed to join me for a debate,” O’Rourke stated in an Aug. 9 tweet. “Looking forward to holding him accountable for his indefensible record during three town hall-style debates across the state where we’ll both take questions directly from voters.”
O’Rourke is the former U.S. representative for Texas’s 16th congressional district. He ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2018.
According to Abbott’s campaign, the Nexstar Media debate will be “the one and only debate of the 2022 election.”
Texans for Greg Abbott Campaign Director Gardner Pate stated the governor welcomes the debate.
“Governor Abbott is looking forward to debating Beto O’Rourke and explaining to all Texans about the Governor’s efforts to secure the future of Texas by securing the border, defunding cities that defund the police, lowering property taxes, and protecting our oil & gas industry,” Pate stated in the Aug. 9 news release. “Unlike Beto O’Rourke, who supports open borders, defunding the police, increasing property taxes, and supports radical energy policies that would hurt our oil & gas workers.”
The Sept. 30 debate will be available in every media market and on Spanish-language stations throughout Texas.
The details of the debate have yet to be released.
The debate will be moderated by Britt Moreno, KXAN-TV evening news anchor, and will feature a panel of journalists including Sally Hernandez, KXAN-TV morning news anchor; Gromer Jeffers, political reporter for The Dallas Morning News; and Steve Spriester, news anchor and reporter for KSAT-TV in San Antonio, according to the news release.
UTRGV Political Science Lecturer Andrew Smith said the debate will help students and the community learn more about the candidates.
“The fact that it’s being held at UTRGV is a sign that the university is kind of coming up in the world … getting more attention,” Smith told The Rider. “But it is also a place where I think both candidates see the potential to play to voters.”
He said having more than one debate can be more beneficial for some candidates than others.
“I think Beto definitely wants more than one debate because … he wants more opportunities to go after Gov. Abbott,” Smith said. “I think Abbott also views multiple debates as O’Rourke having an opportunity to get more airtime and get more attacks. And certainly an incumbent governor does not want the challenger to get too much media exposure.”
Smith encourages students to vote in the Nov. 8 gubernatorial election.
“If you haven’t registered to vote, you need to get registered ASAP and make sure … you research the candidates, make sure you get as informed as possible and then exercise your right to vote [in] November,” he said.
Asked if one debate was enough, Angela Flores, a political science sophomore, replied there has to be more opportunities for people to attend.
“If there is only one day, that doesn’t allow all the people that want to go to go, you know,” Flores said. “What if they have class while the debate [is] going on? What if they work? What if they are not on campus that day? I feel like everyone needs [the] opportunity to go see and hear the people that they are voting for. And it shouldn’t be a one-time thing.”
She told The Rider there are several issues that are important to discuss during the debate.
“Now that we are starting fall semester, Greg Abbott has continuously failed in trying to help … Texas people, so [the] power grid, for sure, is one issue,” Flores said. “Flooding is another issue … and then after that, I think it would go into abortion rights and LGBTQ rights.”
