Why Won’t Greg Abbott Agree to Debate Gina Hinojosa?
Texans Deserve to Hear from Abbott Directly after Refusing to Condemn Bo French’s racist tweets
DALLAS, TX — Career politician Greg Abbott is getting awfully good at hiding.
Last week, we saw him hiding behind false and misleading tweets, press releases, and billboards, desperately attempting to distract from rising inflation and oil prices and a midterm convention that fell flat.
Now, Greg Abbott is hiding behind his non-answer answer to Bo French’s racist tweets about UT students. As reported by The Texas Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, NBC News, and others Abbott refused to condemn French’s posts or call for them to be taken down.
That puts him at odds with several other Texas Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn and House Speaker Rep. Dustin Burrows – both of whom blasted French for his racist, disparaging remarks.
Abbott’s refusal to do the same matters. Because it’s in line with his continued refusal to debate Gina Hinojosa. He’s hiding.
It’s been more than three months since Gina accepted the first of four debate invitations. Yet, it’s crickets from Greg Abbott, who previously took part in multiple debates during his 2014, 2018, and 2022 campaigns.
While he finds time to speak on a convention stage where he can carefully control the message, he refuses to appear on a debate stage to face Gina one-on-one and answer tough questions. That’s because Greg Abbott is running scared amidst his closest, most challenging re-election ever.
“It’s clear from the past week that Greg Abbott has a lot to say about Gina Hinojosa. But the question remains – why won’t he agree to say it to her face? Is it because he’s afraid to stand up to the most extreme voices within his own party? Is it because he doesn’t want to answer for putting data center billionaires over the needs of local communities? Or is it because after 30 years in office all he’s got to run on are things he could’ve already done? Either way, Greg Abbott’s refusal to take a clear position on Bo French underscores why Texans deserve a debate. Gina Hinojosa has agreed to face voters to answer any question, any place, at any time. Greg Abbott should have the courage to do the same,” said Texas Democratic Party Spokesman Jacob Long.
Greg Abbott’s continued refusal to debate comes amid polling showing his lead in the race has consistently evaporated and that he’s hemorrhaging support among key voting groups, including Latinos.
###
