Abbott’s new ads target O’Rourke over policing
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is launching new negative TV ads aimed at Beto O’Rourke, accusing the Democrat of advocating for defunding the police, a claim O’Rourke’s campaign has said is not true.
In the new 30-second ad airing statewide, Abbott appears on camera with police cars in the background at what looks like a crime scene.
“Across America, there are too many scenes like this. Beto O’Rourke’s answer is to ‘defund’ and ‘dismantle’ the police. He wants to punish the police, not the criminals,” Abbott
says. “I support our law enforcement by ensuring they are fully funded.”
Abbott’s campaign said the $4 million ad buy will start airing on Monday.
The claims in the ad are based on a June 2020 podcast interview O’Rourke gave in which he praised the Black Lives Matter movement and other protesters for putting out a message “front and center to defund these line items that have overmilitarized our police.”
Later in the interview, O’Rourke said that the city of Minneapolis made the right decision to “dismantle and rebuild” the police department
there because they had a “systemwide problem.” Minneapolis is where former Houston resident George Floyd was killed by police in May 2020.
O’Rourke’s campaign says the El Paso Democrat was specifically talking about Minneapolis and not law enforcement in general or in Texas.
On the campaign trail this year, O’Rourke has pushed back against calls to defund the police. In Pecos County last month, a person at one of his rallies advocated for defunding the police and asked if O’Rourke agreed.
“I don’t see eye to eye with you on defunding the police,” O’Rourke said then.
He added that he wanted the police to have the resources and funding they need, including more training.
The negative ad from Abbott comes just a week after O’Rourke launched ads criticizing Abbott for signing legislation that bans abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
Abbott has championed the Texas abortion bans and highlighted his administration’s efforts to invest in alternatives.
“The U.S. Supreme Court correctly overturned Roe v. Wade and reinstated the right of states to protect innocent, unborn children. Texas is a prolife state, and we have taken significant action to protect the sanctity of life,” Abbott wrote in a statement earlier this summer.
Abbott, a Wichita Falls native, is seeking a record-tying third four-year term as governor. O’Rourke is a former Congressman and El Paso City Councilman.
The election is on Nov. 8. Inperson early voting begins on Oct. 24.