‘A desperate candidate ... grasping for straws:’ Abbott blasts O’Rourke over concession issue
Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday that desperation drove Beto O’ Rourke to suggest Abbott might not concede if their race for governor is a close win for the Democrat.
“That’s a desperate candidate who’s grasping for straws, trying to make things look like they’re closer than they are. He knows what I know,” Abbott said Friday in an exclusive interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Not only is the race not close, but the margin is getting wider and he’s sinking further.”
On Tuesday, O’ Rourke, the Democratic nominee, told the Star-Telegram Editorial Board he didn’t think Abbott would concede if the race were tight, noting what he called an “open embrace” of President Donald Trump, who “himself tried to subvert this democracy.”
It was quite a charge. And Abbott’s having none of it.
Abbott’s campaign has previously publicly stated that the two-term Republican would accept the results in the gubernatorial race. He accused O’Rourke of trying to “play it both ways” on election integrity.
“He casts this pall over the elections as though we aren’t going to have any turnout in regards to what we’ve done to election integrity reform,” Abbott said. “Yet at the same time, he says we’re going to have a record number of people vote. He can’t have it both ways. And we are going to have a record number of people vote.”
A major poll released Friday backs up Abbott’s contention that O’ Rourke could be getting desperate. It showed the governor with an 11-point lead despite O’Rourke’s intense campaigning, celebrity backing and media endorsements.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 4:49 PM.
