Beto O’Rourke accepts invites to 4 town-hall debates. Will Governor Greg Abbott join?
Candidates for Texas governor Greg Abbott and Beto O’Rourke are expected to debate later this month as campaign season ramps up ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
Abbott, the Republican incumbent, and Democrat O’Rourke are scheduled to participate in a televised debate at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Sept. 30 in Edinburg.
In addition to the September debate, O’Rourke has accepted invitations to four town hall-style debates. The locations are still in the works, said O’Rourke spokesperson Chris Evans in an email. The campaign wants to have them across the state in October.
“Beto is looking forward to these four town hall-style debates where he can continue taking questions directly from voters in English and Spanish while also holding Governor Abbott fully accountable for his indefensible record of incompetence and extremism,” Evans said in a Thursday statement.
A Thursday statement from an Abbott’s campaign did not directly address whether the governor plans to attend the town halls. A question seeking clarification on whether he’s declining to participate was not immediately returned.
The September debate is expected to be moderated by the anchor of an Austin television station KXAN and will include a panel of journalists from KXAN, The Dallas Morning News and KSAT in San Antonio, according to Abbott’s campaign. It’s hosted by Nexstar Media Group.
Telemundo 40 in the Rio Grande Valley, CNN, TEGNA/WFAA in Dallas-Fort Worth and a coalition of news organizations — The Texas Tribune, Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News and KVUE in Austin — are each set to host one of the four town-hall style debates.
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 1:39 PM.
