Greg Abbott defeats Beto O’Rourke in Texas governor race - The Dallas Morning News

McALLEN — Gov. Greg Abbott defeated Democrat Beto O’Rourke successful the Texas governor’s contention Tuesday, earning a 3rd word successful convincing fashion.

Abbott grabbed an aboriginal pb arsenic helium and astir 300 supporters waited for votes to beryllium counted astatine a hacienda-turned-bird sanctuary successful McAllen.

At each crook of their conflict implicit the past year, the Republican incumbent has linked O’Rourke to President Joe Biden, who is unpopular successful Texas.

Abbott offered himself arsenic a time-tested defender of Texas’ low-tax, light-regulation governing benignant – and of instrumentality and bid and accepted values.

O’Rourke, a erstwhile statesmanlike campaigner and El Paso congressman, had made the lawsuit that the authorities has underperformed nether GOP leaders specified arsenic Abbott. and it was clip to “turn the table” connected that era.

But Tuesday’s results bespeak that Texas voters were pleased with the absorption of the authorities nether the two-term governor.

Scott and Nancy Hommel said they drove 9 ½ hours from Paris successful northeast Texas to be Abbott’s predetermination nighttime ticker party.

“He stands for America,” said Scott, 58, an Ohio native. “The Democratic Party has mislaid its mode – and the bully volition of the American people.”

Edinburg autochthonal and tiny concern proprietor Celeste Huff said she appreciates that Abbott “is addressing parents’ issues connected schoolhouse prime and connected securing the border.”

Also, “He does basal for our instrumentality enforcement,” said Huff, 37, who brought her lad George, 5. “He’s not for defunding [police].”

Early on, the contention drew nationalist attraction — and donations from seashore to coast.

Both men boasted of enlisting tiny armies of door-knocking volunteers. Shattering records, Abbott and O’Rourke person spent a combined $202.5 cardinal since July 1, 2021, with 65% of that the two-term GOP incumbent’s expenditures. In those 16 months, Abbott has raised $83.6 million; and O’Rourke, $77.3 million.

In last nationalist polls going into Tuesday, Abbott enjoyed an mean pb among apt voters of 9.2 percent points, according to Real Clear Politics.

The rivals pulled fewer punches successful a contention that was hard-fought down to the ligament Tuesday.

Abbott, 64, who’s been successful statewide elective offices for much than a quarter-century, touted the state’s prosperity but provided fewer details connected what helium wants to execute successful 4 much years arsenic governor.

Instead, helium mostly warned successful stark presumption that Texas’ precise individuality arsenic a bastion of state was imperiled by O’Rourke’s wide views. He said O’Rourke marches successful lockstep with wide nationalist Democrats.

“Wrong Way O’Rourke Wants to Kill the Texas Energy Industry,” work the taxable enactment connected 1 Abbott email blast past winter.

On the eve of Tuesday’s vote, the Abbott run revised its nickname for O’Rourke but stuck to the longstanding complaint that arsenic governor, O’Rourke would endanger economical gains and nationalist safety.

“Every Way Beto Will Destroy Texas,” it said successful a quality release, ticking disconnected O’Rourke positions connected taxes, energy, immigration, transgression justice, termination and taste issues.

For his part, O’Rourke shied distant from his hearty endorsement of Biden successful 2020, adjacent criticizing the president’s handling of the Texas-Mexico border.

In the last weekend, though, O’Rourke welcomed a robocall of enactment from erstwhile President Barack Obama.

In a Monday fundraising email, O’Rourke said that “we are moving against the worst politician successful the United States of America.”

O’Rourke, 50, repeatedly branded Abbott a failure. He cited a troubling exodus of teachers from nationalist schools, closures of agrarian hospitals, a February 2021 wintertime tempest that buckled Texas’ electrical grid and the governor’s advocacy past twelvemonth of “extreme” authorities that outlawed abortion and eliminated permits for carrying of handguns.

But astir Texans had different things connected their mind, said Allan Saxe, retired prof of governmental subject astatine the University of Texas astatine Arlington.

“Today we’re successful a antithetic world,” helium said. “People are disquieted astir crime, disquieted astir education. They’re disquieted astir immigration. They besides judge the system is successful trouble.”

Kenneth Bryant Jr., a governmental idiosyncratic astatine the University of Texas astatine Tyler, noted that Texas Democrats failed to interruption done successful statewide contests “with the upwind astatine their backs successful 2018 and 2020.” This twelvemonth proved a “buzz saw” for them, helium said.

“Even much than the nationalist climate, [O’Rourke] was moving against a comparatively fashionable incumbent politician with a monolithic warfare chest,” Bryant said. “Where Democrats person been competitory successful ‘red’ and ‘purple’ states this twelvemonth are successful places with anemic Republican candidates. Beto wasn’t truthful lucky.”

Unlike successful his archetypal 2 gubernatorial campaigns, this year, Abbott shoved his full heap of fundraising chips into the halfway of the table.

At the extremity of his 2014 contention against then-state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, Abbott held backmost $12.5 million. Four years ago, against erstwhile Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, helium conserved $17.5 million. But successful 2022, with 10 days near earlier the election, helium reported a currency equilibrium of conscionable $3.7 million.

This cycle, Abbott faced 2 tense moments successful his bid for reelection.

The archetypal was a weekslong agelong successful autumn 2021 erstwhile Fox News property Tucker Carlson hammered him for not sending capable National Guard soldiers to the Texas-Mexico border. Carlson invited Abbott’s GOP challengers, erstwhile authorities Republican Party president Allen West and erstwhile Dallas authorities Sen. Donald Huffines, to look connected his large-audience show. That forced Abbott to belatedly travel connected to explicate to Carlson his authorities propulsion to unafraid the border.

After the May wide shooting astatine a Uvalde simple school and the U.S. Supreme Court’s June determination overturning Roe vs. Wade, Abbott besides made immoderate unforced errors and saw Democrats abruptly fired up.

As UT-Tyler’s Bryant noted, Abbott committed immoderate gaffes.

“The post-Uvalde ‘it could person been worse’ remark was weaponized against him implicit the summer,” Bryant said. “But a operation of timing [it was months ago] and contented salience [gun betterment is not a apical precedence for voters this cycle] has saved him from a much consequential governmental backlash.”

Abbott’s rightward tack during 2021′s legislative sessions seemingly didn’t outgo him much, due to the fact that the contention was “nationalized” by concerns astir ostentation and the borderline and Biden’s unpopularity, said University of Houston prof Brandon Rottinghaus.

“Abbott archetypal campaigned for bureau arsenic a right-of-center moderate, but the governmental trends pushed him to determination to the right,” Rottinghaus said. “He’s a astute person and knew that moving conscionable acold capable to the close would fto him support his basal but not alienate moderates.”

Some longtime Abbott advisers said helium erstwhile again heeded a time-validated “Rose Garden” strategy, successful which incumbents assistance challengers arsenic fewer debates arsenic possible, debar media scrums and look successful nationalist successful controlled settings.

“Taking a leafage from the Rick Perry playbook, Abbott avoided the media and narrowed the value of the debate. Even his humble gaffes … didn’t get traction successful a beauteous nasty antagonistic contention overall,” Rottinghaus said.

In a closing advertisement O’Rourke aired connected TV successful the campaign’s last 13 days, helium spoke to camera successful Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park, framed by 2 Texas flags.

Abbott “failed us” by doing thing to avert schoolhouse shootings, precocious spot taxes and the catastrophic nonaccomplishment of the state’s main electrical grid past year, O’Rourke said. The Democrat pledged to onslaught those problems, “pay our teachers” and reconstruct women’s quality to determine whether to person an abortion.

“Let’s crook the array connected Greg Abbott and determination Texas forward,” helium concluded.

Abbott’s closing spot returned to footage of his devastating 1984 spinal injury. A histrion fell connected him arsenic the aboriginal justice and lawyer general, past a young instrumentality steadfast subordinate successful Houston, studying for the bar, jogged successful a residential neighborhood.

The advertisement besides reprised shots the Abbott squad utilized successful 2014, of him moving retired successful a Dallas parking store precocious astatine night, propelling his wheelchair and sweating done a grey T-shirt.

“Thirty-eight years ago, his backmost was breached but his tone was not,” a narrator says. “It’s that aforesaid determination that drives Greg Abbott to support Texas strong.”

Amid video clips showing Abbott touring a factory, appearing astatine a transgression country and pointing to the banks of the Rio Grande River successful a authorities speedboat, the advertisement visually reprised onslaught lines the incumbent has utilized to question O’Rourke’s fitness: jobs, afloat backing of constabulary departments, a migrant surge astatine the Texas-Mexico border.

“Greg Abbott, securing the aboriginal of Texas,” the narrator concludes, against a backdrop of Abbott encircled by 11 cute youngsters.

Staff writer Yamil Berard successful Dallas contributed to this report.