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Greg Abbott debuted his first general election campaign ad Tuesday, bucking his party’s recent trend by at least attempting to appeal to Hispanic voters.
The ad, which can be seen in full below and features Abbott’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law, was aired on Univision during Mexico and Brazil’s 0-0 World Cup match on Tuesday. It will air on the station throughout the tournament.
Although Abbott has compared the border region to a Third World country and has a $300 million plan to secure it, he has never been quite as confrontational as his Republican ticket-mates on immigration issues.
Republican Lieutenant Governor nominee Dan Patrick has accused undocumented persons of staging an “illegal invasion” and has pledged to do everything he can, if elected, to repeal Texas’ version of the DREAM Act. Abbott has said that he only wants to reform the act — which allows certain undocumented students to attend college at in-state tuition rates — rather than get rid of it entirely.
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As recently as April, Abbott trailed Wendy Davis by as few as 10 points among voters who identified as Hispanic.
Davis, who in the Democratic primary lost 20 border counties to a candidate who didn’t spend a dime, is thought to be having trouble gaining support from some Hispanics, specifically Catholic Hispanics, who know her best from her 2013 filibuster against new abortion restrictions in Texas.
With this ad, and the many that are sure to follow, Abbott appears set to at least take a run at those voters (and soccer fans who are watching Univision because they just can’t handle ESPN’s coverage).
