Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he has agreed to debate Democratic opponent Beto O鈥橰ourke on Sept. 30 in the Rio Grande Valley.
O鈥橰ourke said he would debate Abbott in the Valley but did not commit to the Sept. 30 debate. Without ruling it out entirely, he also called for three 鈥渢own hall-style debates.鈥�
The perennial debate over debates kicked off Tuesday afternoon, when Abbott鈥檚 campaign announced he had accepted an invitation from Nexstar Media Group to debate O鈥橰ourke on the evening of Sept. 30 at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg. Abbott鈥檚 campaign called it 鈥渢he one and only gubernatorial debate of the 2022 election,鈥� implying it is the only one he is willing to do.
O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 campaign responded a little over an hour later.
鈥淲e looked forward to attending a forum hosted by Nexstar Media Group in the Rio Grande Valley at a mutually agreed upon date and time, but one debate in one community for the entire state of Texas is not nearly enough,鈥� O鈥橰ourke spokesperson Chris Evans said in a statement.
The O鈥橰ourke campaign said it additionally wants Abbott to 鈥減articipate in three town hall-style debates in every region of the state during weeknights this fall where they can take questions directly from their fellow Texans.鈥�
Abbott鈥檚 choice of the evening of Sept. 30 鈥� a Friday evening in the fall 鈥� is a timeworn tactic of incumbents looking to agree to a debate when not as many Texans are paying attention as they would on other nights of the week.
Abbott鈥檚 campaign said the Sept. 30 debate 鈥渨ill be available in every media market, and on Spanish language stations throughout Texas.鈥�
When O鈥橰ourke ran against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2018, they had a monthslong back-and-forth over debates. They ultimately agreed to three, though one of them did not happen because of the Senate confirmation battle over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Abbott debated his last Democratic challenger, Lupe Valdez, once 鈥� also on a Friday evening in late September.
Abbott鈥檚 campaign has long kept the door open to debating O鈥橰ourke, especially in the event of a competitive race. Recent polls have shown O鈥橰ourke trailing Abbott by 5 percentage points, and O鈥橰ourke outraised Abbott in the latest fundraising period, though Abbott still has nearly double cash on hand.
鈥淚t depends,鈥� Abbott strategist Dave Carney said in March when asked if the governor would debate O鈥橰ourke. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 a competitive race, maybe. If it鈥檚 not, probably not.鈥�
The election is Nov. 8 and early voting begins Oct. 24.
