As early voting begins, Abbott and O'Rourke press for votes in final push to Election Day
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Standing in the rain, Democrat Beto O'Rourke told supporters at the Renner Frankford Library in North Dallas to spread the word and help him get out the vote.
"Y'all ready to win?" he asked. "Supporting those teachers, ensuring every woman makes her own decisions about her own body and prioritizing the lives of our kids over the NRA, we're going to come through and we're going to win."
Among those who stood in line to vote was Carolyn Maynard who said carrying out her civic duty was more important than getting a little wet.
"My ancestors, they marched in the rain, they died, some of them for me to have the right to vote," she said.
Glenn McMillon agreed. "It's very important. The first opportunity, every opportunity, every time the polls are open, I'm here."
O'Rourke also greeted supporters at Friendship West Baptist Church in southern Dallas and four other locations Monday.
Governor Greg Abbott campaigned in San Antonio, the Austin area, and Harlingen on Monday and he focused in part on his economic record.
"Under our conservative leadership, the Texas economy is the fastest growing economy in the United States of America," Abbott said. "Since you all last re-elected me, Texas has added more jobs than any other state in the entire country."
The Real Clear Politics average of polls shows the Governor has a nine-percentage point lead.
Dallas County Democratic Party Chair Kristy Noble has said she estimates some 300,000 Democrats stayed home and didn't vote in the 2020 election.
The party and O'Rourke's campaign are focusing on getting those people to the polls.
O'Rourke said, "North Texas holds the margin of victory. If so many of those who did not vote in 2020 actually turn out this year, today or tomorrow on the first days of early voting, we will win this election."
He will make five stops in Tarrant County on Tuesday, where he said he hopes to build on his victory there from four years ago when he ran for U.S. Senate.
Abbott will campaign in North Texas later this week.