What Greg Abbott, Gina Hinojosa say about the tight polls in the Texas Governor's race as early voting is set to begin
Few, if any, expected the Texas Governor's race to become as close as the polls now indicate. Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a fourth term, faces Democratic State Representative Gina Hinojosa of Austin, who has gained momentum during the past month. Both candidates are going to be kicking it into high gear over the next two-plus weeks until Election Day to make sure they get their supporters to the polls. It comes as the Secretary of State announced Friday afternoon that Texas has more than 19 million registered voters, a new record number.
As of Friday evening, the Real Clear Politics average of polls between September 18 and October 11 shows Abbott led Hinojosa by just 1.8 percentage points, 48.4% to 46.6%. The Cook Political Report, which rates political races, rates this "Lean R". Abbott is favored to win despite the polling, in part because of his extensive voter turnout operation and funding.
In an interview with Hinojosa last Tuesday, she told CBS News Texas that people aren't happy with the governor. "People want change," said Hinojosa. "They know who Greg Abbott is, and they're angry. They don't trust him. They've lost faith in Greg Abbott. He's not the same person he used to be when he was first elected to Governor. The saying at the Capitol actually is the lights are off in the Governor's mansion. There is nobody leading to take care of Texans to make sure government is working for Texans."
In a recent interview with CBS News Texas, Gov. Abbott said he is not concerned about the tight polls. "I see the reality," said Abbott. "And the reality is that when Texans really learn about who Gina Hinojosa is, they react very negatively. She stands for policies that are antagonistic to Texas. She supports sanctuary cities in the state of Texas. She supports defunding the police. She supports foreign adversaries like China being able to buy land in our state."
Early voting begins Monday, Oct.19, and runs through Friday, Oct. 30.
Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 a.m. Sunday on CBS News Texas, on air and streaming on the CBS News app.
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