Where the candidates for Texas governor on Nov. 8 ballot stand on taxes, guns, abortion
Greg Abbott
Political party: Republican Party
Age as of November 8, 2022: 64
Campaign website: Gregabbott.com
Occupation: Governor of Texas
Education: University of Texas at Austin (BBA) Vanderbilt University (JD)
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought)
I have been Governor of Texas since 2015. I was the Texas Attorney General from 2002-2015 and a Texas Supreme Court Justice upholding our Texas Constitution and laws from 1996-2001.
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
Throughout my public service and before my time as Governor, I’ve had the honor to be involved with the following organizations: The Texas Institute for Rehabilitation Research, Career and Recovery Resources, Marywood Children & Families, Holy Trinity Seminary, Darrell K Royal Research Fund for Alzheimer’s Disease, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Texas, and Central Texas Chapter of Goodwill Industries.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
More than 100,000 Texans from all 254 counties in our state have contributed to my re-election campaign. You can find all contributions made to Texans for Greg Abbott here: www.ethics.state.tx.us.
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponents?
The contrast couldn’t be clearer. Texas has the fastest growing economy in America, and more jobs were added in Texas since my re-election than any other state. Texas is now #1 for Fortune 500 headquarters and we are the #1 state to start a small business. I’ve done more than any Governor in history to secure our border. I deployed Texas National Guard and DPS to the border, began building a border wall, and worked to get deadly fentanyl off our streets. My opponent said there’s no problem at the border and would do nothing to stop Biden’s open border policies.I supported law enforcement by punishing cities that defund police and fighting loose bail policies. My opponent applauded the defund movement and supports easy bail policies that would let criminals back onto our streets.I have championed oil and gas jobs, while my opponent supported radical energy policies that would eliminate those jobs and increase the cost of gas.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
The three biggest issues in this race are keeping Texas #1 for jobs and the economy, securing our border from Biden’s open border policies, and reducing the pain of inflation caused by the Biden Administration by cutting property taxes and protecting the oil & gas industry to reduce the price at the pump.
Should property taxes be lowered? What can the state do to lower property taxes for Texans? Be specific.
Property taxes must be lowered. Even though property tax rates are set by local governments, the state has ways to cut property taxes. We’ve cut property taxes by increasing homestead exemptions and cutting school property tax rates. We will keep cutting those rates every year going forward. We can reduce the school property taxes while fully funding schools by using the budget surplus of $27 billion to pay for it. We will deliver the biggest property tax cut in the history of Texas by taking half of that surplus and giving it back to Texans.
What should the state do to address immigration at the Texas-Mexico border?
There is nothing humanitarian about encouraging people to risk their lives to be smuggled by cartels or coyotes, only to break the law and enter our country illegally. Never forget, two years ago, we had the most secure border in decades. Now, under President Biden, we have the highest border crossings ever and a national fentanyl crisis that keeps getting worse by the day. Texas continues stepping up to fill in these dangerous gaps left open by the Biden administration, doing more than any state ever to secure our border. Texas National Guard soldiers have turned back over 25,000 illegal immigrants, DPS troopers have arrested and jailed thousands of criminals, including human traffickers and smugglers, and Texas law enforcement has seized enough deadly fentanyl to kill every man, woman, and child in America. Texas has also started building our own border wall, and we continue providing relief to local border communities by busing more than 12,000 migrants to sanctuary cities.
Do you support changes to Texas gun laws? If so, what changes? Would you support raising the age to buy AK-style rifles from 18 to 21?
I support laws that get guns out of the hands of dangerous people. I signed a law that makes it a felony to lie on a background check. I support expanding background checks to include juvenile records and making it a crime for gang members to buy or possess a gun. We must stop mass shootings but can’t make false promises. A federal court ruled that it is unconstitutional to raise the age to 21 to buy an AR-15. Also, a federal court recently ruled that a Texas law was unconstitutional because it denied gun rights to an 18-year-old. More gun laws have not led to fewer shootings. California has some of the toughest gun laws but last year had the most active shooter incidents. We must address the mental health issues that cause school shootings. That’s what Texas is doing. We provide mental health assessment and treatment for 3,500 schools and are expanding this to all schools in Texas.
How should Texas continue its efforts to make schools safer?
What happened in Uvalde is a tragedy, and we continue working with state and local leaders to prevent future tragedies. I issued six directives to make schools safer and called for special legislative committees to work together on recommendations and solutions. Based on their work, I will make school safety and mental health funding emergency priorities in the next legislative session. I also directed TEA and TxSSC to conduct safety audits throughout the school year, and I worked with legislative leadership to provide $105 million to increase school safety and improve behavioral health for students. I also created a new Chief of School Safety and Security that will ensure that the state and our schools are following the safest policies to protect our students, parents, teachers, and school faculty. All law enforcement officers will be required to follow the Columbine protocol which requires they immediately take action against a dangerous person on campus.
Should Texas change its abortion law to make exceptions for rape and/or incest? At what point in a pregnancy should abortion be barred, if at all?
I cannot imagine the physical and emotional pain a woman is going through. This was shared with me by a woman I met in Austin. She told me that her mother was a survivor of rape. Her mother explained that as horrific as the rapist was, she recognized that her daughter was innocent. Her mother provided her the greatest gift of all—the gift of life. She explained how this is an incredibly tough issue for women, especially because there are two lives at stake. Our goal is to protect both lives. We must provide care for both the mother and the child. That’s why we have provided more pre-natal and post-partum care and provided increased funding for women’s health programs. In Texas, we strive to protect both mother and child.
What can the state do to help students who are lagging behind grade level in subjects like math and reading? What specific policies do you support to improve achievement in Texas schools?
No other governor has provided more funding for public education than I have. Per student funding is at an all-time high. I signed laws to provide tutoring and resources for teachers and students, which has led to improved results. Texas students’ math scores improved, and their reading scores not only improved during COVID, they are the highest in a decade. Texas continues to have one of the highest graduation rates in the country, and Texas ranked #1 this year for the most Blue Ribbon schools in the U.S.
Should there be a statewide ban or limit on gender-affirming health care treatments for transgender Texans younger than 18? Which medical procedures or treatments and why? How should such a ban/limit be enforced?
This is about protecting children. A minor doesn’t have the mental capacity to make permanent life-altering decisions by mutilating their sex organs. Physically changing the sex of a minor child should not be allowed.
Do you support Medicaid expansion? What changes would you like to see in the healthcare system to make care more affordable and accessible?
The best way to get healthcare insurance is through an employer. Since I was re-elected, Texas has added more new jobs than any other state. My opponent is misleading about how much Medicaid expansion would cost. For example, when Texas first joined Medicaid in 1968, it cost our state about $50 million a year, that’s equivalent to $3.3 billion today. Now, however, Medicaid costs Texas $32 billion a year and increases every year. Even after California and New York expanded Medicaid, it cost more than they expected. California had to cut their education budget to pay for Medicaid expansion. Expanded Medicaid is a tax increase waiting to happen. Medicaid was created to serve the most vulnerable, not able-bodied adults who can and should get healthcare through an employer.
Texas is expected to have a huge budget surplus in the coming legislative session. How should those dollars be spent and what priorities should be addressed with those dollars?
We have a record budget surplus of $27 billion because we have the #1 economy in the country. That surplus should be used to address important issues like education, healthcare and school safety. We will also use this record budget surplus to address one of the biggest issues facing Texas, and that’s your property taxes. Property tax rates are set by local governments; the state doesn’t set those rates. The state does, however, have ways to cut property taxes. We’ve increased Texans’ homestead exemptions and have cut school property tax rates in previous legislative sessions. We will keep cutting Texans’ property tax rates every year going forward, and one of those ways is using half of the $27 billion surplus to provide the biggest property tax cut in the history of Texas.
Should Texas loosen its marijuana laws? Would you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational and/or medical use?
I have signed several laws that have expanded marijuana for medical purposes, such as cancer, PTSD, and epilepsy. I also believe that prison and jail is a place for dangerous criminals who may harm someone. Possession of a small amount of marijuana is not the type of violation that we want to stockpile jails with. So, I have advocated to make possession of small amounts of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor like a traffic ticket.
Should Texas legalize casino gambling? Should the state legalize sports betting? If so, what should be the framework and parameters?
We don’t want slot machines at every corner store, we don’t want Texans to be losing money that they need for everyday expenses, and we don’t want any type of crime that could be associated with gaming. But, if there is a way to create a professional entertainment option for Texans, I’d take a look at it in the coming legislative sessions.
Has the state done enough to fix the power grid? What should be done going forward to ensure its successful operation, particularly in times of extreme weather?
After Winter Storm Uri, I signed 14 bipartisan laws that prevented the grid from failing. Those laws reformed and winterized the grid, increased power generation, and capped electricity price spikes. Since then, Texas has weathered the hottest summer and a cold winter without the power grid failing. Since these laws took effect, no Texan has lost power because of the Texas power grid. We even set 11 all-time records for power demand and the grid never failed. We will continue to increase power generation to keep up with our growing population and to provide for all the new businesses moving to Texas.
Beto O’Rourke
Political party: Democrat
Age as of November 8, 2022: 50
Campaign website: betofortexas.com
Occupation: I’m a former member of the United States Congress and the founder of Powered by People—a grassroots, Texas-based organization that works to expand democracy through voter registration and direct voter engagement. I also recently taught university courses at the University of Texas and Texas State University, and I am a partner in a commercial property business in my hometown of El Paso.
Education: BA in English Literature from Columbia University, 1995
Have you run for elected office before?
Held: El Paso City Council - 2005-2011 Held: U.S. Congress (Representing the El Paso area) - 2013-2019 Sought: U.S. Senate - 2018 Election Sought: Democratic Nomination for President - 2019
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
Most recently, I founded and led Powered by People, a grassroots, Texas-based organization that works to expand democracy through voter registration and direct voter engagement. Powered by People has helped register over 250,000 Texans to vote since its inception in December 2019. Prior to that, I served six years in the United States Congress. From 2005-2011, I served on the El Paso City Council.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Teachers across Texas have contributed more times than any other occupation.
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent(s)?
I’ve always been focused on delivering for ALL Texans. In Congress, I held town hall meetings every week and ranked among the top fifth of all lawmakers who voted in a bipartisan manner. I’ve visited each of Texas’ 254 counties, where I’ve found the common ground between Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.
I’m running for governor to bring Texans together around the big issues that unite all of us—like improving our schools, creating better jobs, expanding health care, and bringing down the cost of living in this state. That’s in contrast to my opponent, who ignores the will of the majority to cater to the most extreme voices in his party. It has made him an ineffective governor—a governor who has forced teachers out of the classroom in droves, overseen six major mass shootings, and who couldn’t even keep the lights on in the energy capital of the world.
This election is about overcoming the extremism to deliver for all Texans.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
Freedom
Greg Abbott signed the most extreme abortion ban in the nation. He made Texas the toughest state in which to vote. And the list goes on. Texas deserves a governor that will protect—not attack—our freedoms.
Our children
Greg Abbott has turned his back on Texas children. As he weakens gun laws, gun violence has become the leading cause of death among children and teens. As he refuses to expand Medicaid, Texas leads the nation in uninsured children. His extreme attacks on public schools are depriving children of the education they deserve. I’ll be a governor that puts our children first, before any special interest.
The future of our economy
Costs are skyrocketing in Texas. Our governor is attacking our freedoms. He is unable to even guarantee the lights will stay on. This all threatens to squander the strong economy that Texas workers and business leaders have spent generations building. I’ll maintain our economic leadership for generations to come.
Should property taxes be lowered? What can the state do to lower property taxes for Texans? Be specific.
Most Texans are now paying more in taxes than Californians. As governor, I will sustainably lower property taxes by:
Closing tax loopholes
A loophole in the tax code makes it easy for wealthy corporations to manipulate the appraisal process and shift their property tax burden onto homeowners and small businesses. I’ll close that loophole.
Reducing unfunded mandates
The state and local school districts used to split the cost of public education 50-50, but the state now forces the majority of the burden onto property taxpayers. Texas refuses to expand Medicaid, keeping our federal income taxes from coming back to Texas to cover indigent care and bring down the taxes we pay to keep our hospitals open. I’ll increase the state’s share of school funding and expand Medicaid.
Bringing in new revenue
Texas can remain a no-income-tax state, hold the line on sales taxes, AND reduce property taxes by bringing in bipartisan, commonsense sources of new state revenue—like legalizing marijuana.
What should the state do to address immigration at the Texas-Mexico border?
As a fourth generation border resident who is raising my three children in El Paso, I believe that Texas needs a governor who prioritizes real solutions to the challenges at our border, not costly, self-serving political stunts. I’ll work with local, state, and federal partners to establish safe, legal, orderly immigration pathways that reduce pressure on border communities and make it easier for us to target those who wish to do us harm and traffic drugs into Texas.
I’ll lead the way in devising a bipartisan, Texas-based guest worker program that helps business owners and farmers fill jobs that U.S. workers don’t want. I’ll work with our federal partners to speed up asylum processing. I’ll partner with local law enforcement by ensuring DPS and Texas Guard deployments are strategic and targeted, and I’ll work to deploy more smart technology like sensors and drones that can more efficiently detect crossings between ports of entry and help enforcement authorities carry out arrests.
Do you support changes to Texas gun laws? If so, what changes? Would you support raising the age to buy AK-style rifles from 18 to 21?
As Greg Abbott weakens gun laws year after year—including by making it easier for criminals to carry guns in public without a background check or training—Texas has suffered six major mass shootings on his watch and gun deaths have gone up every single year of his tenure. It’s no wonder that gun violence is now the leading cause of death for kids and teens in Texas.
As governor, I’ll bring Texans together to make progress on the popular, bipartisan, commonsense gun safety solutions that the vast majority of us agree on. That includes raising the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21, implementing a red flag system, passing universal background checks, and repealing permitless carry. We’ll protect the Second Amendment while doing a far better job of protecting our loved ones from gun violence.
How should Texas continue its efforts to make schools safer?
It’s been 20 weeks since 19 children and two teachers were murdered in their classrooms in Uvalde, yet Governor Abbott still refuses to call a special session to pass laws that can prevent the next school shooting in a state that leads the nation in the number of school shootings. As governor, I’ll enact commonsense gun safety measures so that gun violence is no longer the leading cause of death among this state’s children and teens. We’ll finally expand mental health care so that Texas no longer ranks 51st in the nation for mental health care access, and so that each of our more than 1,200 school districts no longer lacks the professionally recommended number of school counselors and mental health providers. And we’ll partner with local districts to fund school infrastructure improvements so that Texas no longer spends a dismal $10 per student on school safety.
Should Texas change its abortion law to make exceptions for rape and/or incest? At what point in a pregnancy should abortion be barred, if at all?
Greg Abbott signed the most extreme abortion ban in America that begins at conception and has no exception for rape or incest. It is complicating medical care for women experiencing dangerous and complicated pregnancies, and it is going to kill more women in a state that already leads much of the developed world in its rate of maternal mortality. As governor, I will use every tool available to restore a woman’s freedom to make her own decisions about her own body, health care, and future. I believe in simply returning to the popular standard set by Roe v. Wade, which was the law of the land in Texas and across the country for nearly half a century.
What can the state do to help students who are lagging behind grade level in subjects like math and reading? What specific policies do you support to improve achievement in Texas schools?
Because of how badly Greg Abbott has underfunded our public schools and underpaid our teachers, educators are leaving the classroom in droves, 7 in 10 fourth graders can’t read at grade level, and Texas ranks 40th in the nation for educational attainment. As governor, I’ll improve the quality of our schools and prioritize the future of our kids by working to increase per-pupil spending to at least the national average, raising teacher pay, providing a cost of living adjustment to retired teachers who haven’t seen one since 2004, and replacing the STAAR test with a measure that is diagnostic rather than punitive so that teachers and students can spend more time on meaningful, engaging learning.
Should there be a statewide ban or limit on gender-affirming health care treatments for transgender Texans younger than 18? Which medical procedures or treatments and why? How should such a ban/limit be enforced?
Politicians shouldn’t get in the way of safe, evidence-based, and medically necessary care for children or anyone else. All relevant major medical associations—including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychology Association, and each of their Texas counterparts—agree that gender-affirming care meets each of those criteria. They have also made clear that the statewide ban on this type of lifesaving care is threatening the lives of transgender children, who are three times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers.
I support the gender-affirming care guidelines that the American Medical Association already has in place, which require the full consent of both the child and their guardian(s), focus on age-appropriate care, and ensure that every medical decision a physician makes is based on the unique needs of the individual patient.
Do you support Medicaid expansion? What changes would you like to see in the healthcare system to make care more affordable and accessible?
By refusing to join the 38 states that have chosen expansion—including over a dozen Republican-led states—our current governor has kept $10 billion of our own federal income tax money from coming back to Texas every year to expand access to health care.
As a result, Texas has more uninsured residents than any other state, which helps to explain why more children die of diabetes in Texas than anywhere else in the country, and why 16 rural hospitals have closed down since Abbott became governor—more than any other state. The failure to expand Medicaid has also contributed to our sky-high property taxes and insurance premiums, as we are forced to pick up the tab on all of that uncompensated care.
As governor, I will expand Medicaid to ensure more people can see a doctor and fill a prescription, create nearly 300,000 jobs every year, keep rural hospitals open, and reduce our property taxes and insurance premiums.
Texas is expected to have a huge budget surplus in the coming legislative session. How should those dollars be spent and what priorities should be addressed with those dollars?
Texas should use that money to fix the power grid, provide energy bill relief to Texans who are stuck paying higher electricity bills as a result of Abbott’s grid failure, improve our public schools and bolster the Teacher Retirement System, and expand broadband.
Should Texas loosen its marijuana laws? Would you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational and/or medical use?
It’s time for Texas to do the bipartisan, commonsense, fiscally smart thing and legalize marijuana. Legalizing, carefully regulating, and taxing marijuana will generate major benefits for our economy: it will bring in nearly $1 billion every year in new state revenue and reduced criminal justice costs while creating 40,000 direct jobs as well as tens of thousands of indirect jobs. It’ll also allow law enforcement agencies to spend more time and attention on addressing violent crime: right now, Texas officers spend four hours on each cannabis arrest, while clearance rates for violence crimes like homicide and rape have dropped year after year.
Should Texas legalize casino gambling? Should the state legalize sports betting? If so, what should be the framework and parameters?
In addition to expanding Medicaid and legalizing marijuana, allowing limited forms of gambling in Texas would generate billions of dollars in new state revenue every year that we could use to increase school funding and lower property taxes. I am open to exploring the idea of legalizing and closely regulating sports bettings, as two-thirds of U.S. states have done. I’m also open to letting voters decide on destination-style casinos in our biggest metro areas and lifting burdensome limitations on casinos already being operated by our Tribal nations, while working with local leaders and community members to ensure that any casino in Texas benefits the community in which it operates.
Has the state done enough to fix the power grid? What should be done going forward to ensure its successful operation, particularly in times of extreme weather?
Texas hasn’t done nearly enough to fix the power grid. That’s why we received not one, but three conservation notices this past year when demand came inches away from outstripping supply, and why large industrial facilities like the Toyota plant in San Antonio cut back on production over the summer to help the state conserve energy. Texans can’t rely on the grid when it’s hot or when it’s cold. As governor, I’ll prioritize the power grid by ensuring we weatherize our energy infrastructure, connect to the national grid, build out more transmission and storage capacity, and expand energy efficiency programs. I’ll also work to prevent the type of price gouging we saw during Winter Storm Uri by installing an independent market monitor to oversee the Texas gas industry.
Mark Tippetts
Political party: Libertarian
Age as of November 8, 2022: 63
Campaign website: mark4gov.com
Occupation: International Legal & Business Consultant
Education: Bachelors of Law and a Masters in Administration from San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought):
Ran for Governor in 2018
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
2017 I served on the city council in Lago Vista, Texas.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Chris Rufer, Rex Albers, Peter Anderson
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent(s)?
Too often Democrats want to force you to spend your money a certain way and Republicans want to force you to behave a certain way. Government should protect our liberties, not take them away.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
1. School Choice. Republicans and Gov. Abbott have controlled Texas for over 20 years but they have failed to implement school choice. They talk about it each year, but always fail to deliver even though they have been in control. It’s time to get new leadership in to pass school choice. I support a voucher or tax credit system so even low-income families can afford to send their children to private schools or home school.
2. Immigration. Most illegal immigrants come here to work in construction, landscape, clean homes, work in restaurants, and many other low-skilled jobs that most citizens don’t want to do. We could end most illegal immigration by enacting a good comprehensive immigration policy, making it easier for honest, hardworking people to come work and live here legally.
3. Legalize Marijuana.
Should property taxes be lowered? What can the state do to lower property taxes for Texans? Be specific.
Yes, we should lower or eliminate property taxes. Reduce government spending to reduce property taxes.
What should the state do to address immigration at the Texas-Mexico border?
It’s nearly impossible to immigrate to America legally unless you’re a high-tech worker or have family connections.Most illegal immigrants come here to work in construction, landscape, clean homes, work in restaurants, and many other low-skilled jobs that most citizens don’t want to do. We could end most illegal immigration by enacting a good comprehensive immigration policy, making it easier for honest, hardworking people to come work and live here legally.
Do you support changes to Texas gun laws? If so, what changes? Would you support raising the age to buy AK-style rifles from 18 to 21?
I support the Second Amendment.
How should Texas continue its efforts to make schools safer?
School choice will allow parents to send their children to schools with security policies that match their preferences. Also, as Governor, I will make it clear that the Sheriff is the ultimate law enforcement officer.
Should Texas change its abortion law to make exceptions for rape and/or incest? At what point in a pregnancy should abortion be barred, if at all?
Yes. Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, I believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.
What can the state do to help students who are lagging behind grade level in subjects like math and reading? What specific policies do you support to improve achievement in Texas schools?
We need school choice. Competition and choice will help all students and teachers. I support a voucher or tax credit system so even low-income families can afford to send their children to private schools or home school.
Should there be a statewide ban or limit on gender-affirming health care treatments for transgender Texans younger than 18? Which medical procedures or treatments and why? How should such a ban/limit be enforced?
This is a matter for families and parents.
Do you support Medicaid expansion? What changes would you like to see in the healthcare system to make care more affordable and accessible?
No. More free market healthcare, less government healthcare.
Texas is expected to have a huge budget surplus in the coming legislative session. How should those dollars be spent and what priorities should be addressed with those dollars?
Spend?!? Don’t spend the surplus. Cut taxes.
Should Texas loosen its marijuana laws? Would you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational and/or medical use?
It’s time to legalize marijuana.
Should Texas legalize casino gambling? Should the state legalize sports betting? If so, what should be the framework and parameters?
It’s time to legalize casinos. (Freedom means freedom to gamble.)
Has the state done enough to fix the power grid? What should be done going forward to ensure its successful operation, particularly in times of extreme weather?
I built and own a hydroelectric power plant in Belize. I know a bit about power generation and distribution. We need to get the government out of power grid management. They don’t seem to be able to do a good job of it.
Delilah Barrios
Political Party: Green
Did not respond.
