Governor Greg Abbott stopped by the City of El Paso only a week away from election day to gain support for his campaign. His visit out west consisted of two events in both the upper and lower valleys.
Abbott’s first stop was to the brand-new Charter Communications’ Spectrum Gran Vista Call Center located at 8460 Gran Vista Dr. where he was joined by El Paso city officials, including El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego and El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser. Governor Abbott made this stop to further talk about the Texas economy; according to the El Paso Times, the call center is set to provide nearly 929 high paying jobs for the El Paso area.
Abbott then made a campaign stop at the Riviera Cocina and Cantina on 5218 Doniphan Dr. near the El Paso Country Club. There, the two-term candidate touched on several of the recurring Republican talking points including the distrust in the media, securing the borders and stopping the “radical” left agenda. Abbott expressed his confidence that the Republican party would take back the U.S. House majority this upcoming Tuesday.
“The first thing they are going to do is they are going to go to Washington D.C. and fire Nancy Pelosi,” Abbott said.
A crowd of a few hundred cheered at the remarks and several other comments made by the governor. Those in attendance carried Abbott campaign signs, homemade signs and official posters that read “Parents Matter.” When asked about what these signs meant to them, Abbott supporter Enrique Clarke gave an answer.
“Parents should be the ones in charge of their kids, not the schools. Schools should be just teaching, not indoctrinating,” Clarke said. “The responsibility of our kids is ours. They are trying to confuse the kids to be (LGBTQ). That is something we have to discuss with our kids, not the school.”
Aside from Abbott voters, aspiring conservative politicians were in attendance. U.S. House hopeful Irene Armendariz-Jackson, Texas State Senate candidate Derek Zubeldia and Justice of the Peace candidate Ida Baeza Gardner were all in attendance to support the governor. Both Armendariz-Jackson and Zubeldia spoke to The Prospector on topics regarding this midterm election, The governor however, was unavailable.
A major issue that has come to the forefront is student loan forgiveness. Earlier this year, President Biden announced a massive executive decision to cancel loans of up to $20,000 for some students. Zubeldia, who is running against incumbent César Blanco, made a commitment to help marginalized individuals afford college.
“I believe everyone has a right to an equal and affordable education. I think we need to exhaust all resources, state and federal, to make sure those funds and resources are accessible to students looking to get an education,” Zubeldia said. “I was not in favor (of the loan forgiveness). What about our moms and dads who didn’t go to college because they couldn’t afford it, it’s not fair that they had to pay for somebody else’s education.”
Armendariz-Jackson is running against incumbent Congresswoman Veronica Escobar for the 16th congressional district seat. Armendariz-Jackson made it a point that she does not like her Democratic opponent.
“We’re very different. Number one, I stand for life, she stands for death. I stand for independence, she stands for government dependency,” Armendariz-Jackson said. “You shouldn’t be the one funding thing you don’t believe in.”
When asked about Operation Loan Star, a move by Governor Abbott to curb illegal immigration which cost the state nearly $2 billion, Armendariz-Jackson stood by that decision noting that her husband, William Jackson, was a border patrol agent.
“(William Jackson) is thankful for Operation Lone Star, we know what is happening in our border, we’ve seen the illegals walking in our streets, something needs to be done,” Armendariz-Jackson said.
El Paso County has historically voted blue in large elections. According to the El Paso County Elections Department, over 66 percent of the county voted for Biden in 2020. Before that, 68 percent of the county voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The last time the 16th congressional district had a Republican representative was in 1965 when Ed Foreman lost his re-election bid to Democrat Richard C. White.
The governor faces off against former congressman and El Paso native Beto O’Rourke on election day Tuesday, Nov. 8. O’Rourke will make one of his last stops here on campus with Congresswoman Escobar at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 3 at the University of Texas at El Paso to talk to students and get people to vote early.
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is the sports editor and may be reached at [email protected]: @rivasemmanuel2 on Instagram
