Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates Face Off Friday

This week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune

By Rhonda FanningMay 11, 2018 12:59 pm, , ,

Time for the week that was in Texas politics with Emily Ramshaw, editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune.

Friday night, the two Democratic candidates for governor, Andrew White and Lupe Valdez, will finally debate. It’s their first and only scheduled televised conversation, and to see it, you’ll need to tune into either a live stream from Austin’s KXAN-TV, or watch Spectrum News on cable in San Antonio or Austin. Ramshaw says that’s not the only reason few people are likely to watch.

“Runoff elections, unfortunately, are not very popular in Texas,” she says. “A lot of people don’t even show up to vote. And in this particular race, there just has not been that much excitement.”

The rivalry between Valdez and White, at least from a news junkie perspective, would seem to be pretty interesting. But Ramshaw says neither is likely to defeat Gov. Greg Abbott in November.

Meanwhile Abbott, anticipating that he will face Valdez, and hoping for that outcome in the runoff, launched an ad campaign this week assailing her stance on sanctuary cities, among other issues.

Some survivors of sexual abuse by gymnastics doctor Larry Nasser would like to see state charges brought against Bela and Martha Karolyi, whose Texas Karolyi Ranch provided training to many elite gymnasts trained. Those seeking legal action against the Karolyis claim the couple knew of the abuse. The Karolyis have denied knowing about Nasser’s crimes.

Listen to the full interview in the audio player above.