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The Greg Abbott-Beto O'Rourke Texas Governor debate wasn't carried by any national outlets, but I put together a video thread with some notable moments starting here 👇 https://t.co/sMcqJAdg7T

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2022

I missed this, but something interesting happened.

A CW affiliate here carried it, and provided extensive discussion of the debate after (that’s the part I caught). They even had a small group (maybe 20) who watched the whole debate in a studio and voted on it. Before the debate the vote reflected typical Texas politics: Abbott won by several points, with a large percentage “undecided.” After the debate and some discussion, the vote flipped to 50% for Beto. About half of the undecideds went his way.

Why? I suspect because they finally heard Beto, and they were impressed. He’s been doing his usual campaigning, visiting every county in Texas relentlessly, talking to people who want to believe he’s the personification of all that’s wrong in America (because he’s a Democrat. Hey, I feel the same way about Republicans.). But if you finally see him…

There were also reports about local politics from around the state. It was noted that Abbott won a 55% margin in mostly rural west Texas last time, but he’ll need a 70% margin this time to counter the urban vote. Why? Abortion.

After saying he’ll eliminate rape in Texas, Greg Abbott now says that rape victims who are forced by the state to give birth will be offered “baby supplies” as a token of support. https://t.co/zEyu2O1Su6

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) October 1, 2022

This may be an interesting election. 😎