Texas Governor Greg Abbott visits Fort Worth, urges support for Tarrant candidates
A crowd gathered outside of Cafe Republic on North Beach Street in far north Fort Worth on Tuesday to hear from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been traveling across the state to get out the vote as Election Day nears.
Abbott, a Republican, faces Democrat Beto O’Rourke on Nov. 8. Both candidates have made numerous stops in Fort Worth and Tarrant County, considered by many a battleground for Democrats and Republicans.
The crowd cheered as the governor promised property tax relief, support for law enforcement and security along the Texas-Mexico border. He urged voters to support area Republicans for legislative and county offices and predicted that Tarrant County will be red in 2022.
“We’re just going to show the contrast between the conservative polices that have made Texas No. 1, versus the radical, leftist ideology promoted by the Democrats and Beto O’Rourke,” Abbott said.
Abbott’s Fort Worth stop came just hours after the release of campaign finance figures. Abbott reported $8.8 million in contributions between Sept. 30 and Oct. 29 and had $3.7 million on hand at the end of the period. O’Rourke reported $10.5 million in contributions and $4.3 million on hand.
“We’re receiving support from those in every part of this state who are ready to turn the page on Greg Abbott’s failures and vote for change after eight years of this governor putting his extreme agenda over the people of Texas,” O’Rourke said in a statement.
A poll released Tuesday by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston put Abbott 13 percentage points ahead of O’Rourke.
Irma Martinez of Fort Worth said the governor’s race is the primary race driving her to vote.
“If we go the Democratic way, Texas is not going to be Texas anymore,” she said, later predicting that Abbott will win but O’Rourke will give him a “a good run for his money.”
Laura Laffitte of Roanoke was also confident Abbott will win come Nov. 8. She was at Tuesday’s event with four of her children.
“Not here,” she said, asked whether she thought O’Rourke could win in Texas. “Maybe in California, but not here.”
Laffitte, a hairdresser, and Mary Perez, owner of Enchiladas Ole’, both commended Abbott’s management of business openings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it’s very significant, as far as for a restaurant owner like myself, Texas was one of the first states to open up during the pandemic, and it saved my restaurant and 78 of my employees during that time,” Perez said.
Junior Bompeti, founder and president of Congolese for Trump, was supportive of a plan by Abbott to use expected surplus dollars in the coming legislative session to reduce property taxes.
“That’s strong leadership and we need a strong leader in times like this,” he said.
Tuesday marked Abbott’s 11th stop in Fort Worth since he announced his campaign for reelection. O’Rourke has visited 13 times.
Early voting runs through Nov. 4.
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 3:08 PM.
