By Camille Cox | Staff Writer
On Feb. 16, Gov. Greg Abbott visited and spoke at The Palladium in downtown Waco.
After receiving the National Rifle Association’s endorsement for his reelection campaign, Abbott spoke to supporters about gun rights, telling them that Texans have a “God-given right to self defense.”
“Either you can elect somebody who will protect your Second Amendment rights, or you can stay home and not vote and let the liberal, leftist socialists hijack your Second Amendment rights,” Abbott said.
Among supporters at Abbott’s rally was Congressman Pete Sessions, who is up for reelection with Abbott on the Republican primary ticket. Sessions represents District 17, which stretches from Bastrop County to McLennan County and is composed of approximately 786,000 citizens.
“Gov. Abbott as our governor has taken a strong stand against the national socialist-democratic agenda,” Sessions said. “This governor cares about what our state looks like and has taken an active stand at that, so I’m very proud of not only Gov. Abbott but the things we do to protect the sovereignty of Texas.”
McLennan County resident Destiny Hallman said she volunteers to help spread the word about Abbott’s reelection campaign, specifically through social media.
“I just want to encourage everybody to do their own research,” Hallman said. “And when it comes to the border, Gov. Abbott has been fighting for us and doing everything he can to make sure he puts the wall up. There’s a lot more to it, and I just encourage everyone to do their research and get out and vote.”
Before his 2014 election to the governor’s office, Abbott served as the attorney general of Texas from 2002 to 2015. Abbott will appear on the ballot for governor on the Republican ticket, currently leading the polls after nearly a week of early voting.
Abbott focused his visit to Waco on gun rights, stressing that he will keep Texas the best state through his leadership.
“We are going to show them when we go cast our ballots in November that we love Texas and we love America and we are going to win in November to keep Texas the best state in the greatest country in the history of the world,” Abbott said.
Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke, who visited Waco this month, told supporters and listeners that Abbott failed the state of Texas during Winter Storm Uri. Abbott explained that his main goal was making sure this doesn’t happen to Texas again.
“I can tell you this for a fact: The power grid of Texas has never been stronger or more resilient than it is now,” Abbott said.
Abbott told the Lariat that students must get out and vote to take control of their future.
“Baylor is an outstanding university,” Abbott said. “I’m proud [students] are attending Baylor, learning not only what education they can gain from Baylor but also the values they can learn from Baylor. They need to know that they happen to be going to school in the best state for business and for jobs to ensure that when they graduate and if they stay in Texas, they will have access to the highest quality, good paying jobs. Their voice and their vote means so much, and if they stay home, they are relinquishing their power of their vote to somebody who will hold the ideals and values to the direct contrary of what they believe in. They have to go vote.”
