The Republican and Democratic candidates for Texas governor, both UT alumni, attended student organizations’ tailgates just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm election, encouraging early voting in a tight race.
Recent polling data shows a tight race. Fox News shows Gov. Greg Abbott leading by 5%, while the New York Times / Siena poll shows Rep. Gina Hinojosa leading by four points. Texas has not had a Democratic governor since 1995, and Abbott defeated Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke with about 4.4 million votes in 2022 in the closest gubernatorial race Abbott has run.
Republican incumbent Abbott visited UT fraternities Oct. 17 after Texas football’s loss to Florida, and Hinojosa, D-Austin, sponsored and attended a tailgate before last Saturday’s game against Ole Miss.
Abbott, who graduated from UT in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in finance, stopped by the Delta Tau Delta and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternities to take pictures and speak with students and other guests.
“Somebody in this group is going to be a future governor,” Abbott said to a group of Delta Tau Delta fraternity pledges. “When I was here, I had no freaking idea I was going to become governor. … One of you guys may be president. But regardless, all of you guys are going to be leaders. … You guys are awesome.”
Abbott is a member of Delta Tau Delta’s pledge class of 1978, and gave a short speech at their house to encourage attendees to vote for him early.
“I’ve got one thing for you to do, and that is … go vote for Greg Abbott for governor of the great state of Texas,” he said. “God bless the Delts and God bless the great state of Texas.”
Abbott has served as governor since January 2015 and could break the record for longest-serving Texas governor if he secures his fourth term in November.
Hinojosa graduated from UT in 1996 with a double major in Plan II and government. She sponsored a tailgate before Saturday’s Ole Miss game for the Tejas Club, a men’s social and service organization.
Hinojosa posted a photo with Tejas members and tailgaters to her Instagram, captioned, “It’s a good day to be a Longhorn.” She previously joined the Tejas Club for their weekly “Tejas Coffee” events, where the organization hosts guest speakers at their house for conversations with the UT community.
“Gen Z has the power to decide this election,” Hinojosa wrote on her social media. “Use your voice: make a plan to vote and vote early.”
Hinojosa has said throughout her campaign that young people, including college students, hold more power in this election than in the past. She is currently on a campaign tour across Central Texas to speak to college students and mobilize voters.
“(There’s) a huge opportunity to forge a new way forward,” Hinojosa said in a TikTok from the Tejas event. “Nobody wants politics as usual; let’s make change happen. … It only works if people show up.”
