Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Greg Abbott Visits Lubbock During First Campaign Tour

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott visited the Hub City as part of his first campaign tour for Texas governor.

More than 100 people turned out to hear Abbott speak at the American Wind Power Center in Lubbock Wednesday morning.

Abbott was introduced by Precinct 4 Lubbock County Commissioner Patti Jones and his daughter Audrey.

Abbott discussed his relationship with the Jones family, as his wife worked for Jones Produce while he attended law school at Texas Tech. Abbott later finished his law degree at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

He also discussed the event which caused him to lose the use of his legs at the age of 26.

“After moving to Houston, Texas, I did something that I did every single day; I went out for a jog. And while I was out jogging, a huge oak tree crashed down onto my back, fracturing my vertebrae into my spinal cord, leaving me immediately and permanently paralyzed, and I would never walk again,” said Abbott.

Abbott continued, saying “Some of you in Lubbock have heard that story but some of you, I can tell have not, because I see you shaking your heads wondering ‘how slow was that guy jogging to get hit by a falling tree?’”

“What the doctors had to do was literally piece my vertebrae back together, and they did that with the help of inserting two steel rods up and down my back...you know, some politicians talk about having a spine of steel. I really have a steel spine that I will put to work for you and people across Lubbock and across Texas,” said Abbott.

Following the event, KFYO’s Cole Shooter and the Lubbock Avalanche Journal’s Adam Young interviewed Abbott on a number of issues.

Abbott discussed his ideas on education changes for Texas.

“We need to focus on getting more of our students who graduate from high school either college-ready or career-ready. We need to get away from this concept of ‘one-size-fits-all’ education programs…another thing we need to do is to educate these kids as opposed to forcing them to be taught to a test.” Abbott continued, saying “We need to make college education more accessible and affordable…if we’re going to have more kids go to college, then we need to make it more affordable for them to go to college.”

He also said that Texas Tech is deserving of Tier 1 status. “We want to elevate it even more as one of not only the premier institutions in Texas, but one of the premier higher education institutions in America.”

Abbott also discussed his thoughts on business incentive programs.

“We want to create a level playing field for all businesses in the State of Texas. One thing that means is getting government out of the business of picking between winners and losers. I believe the marketplace is the better area to pick between winners and losers,” said Abbott.

He continued, saying “I do believe, however, that Texas can continue to lead the way in attracting new jobs here, but maybe the better way to go about doing that is by having the right tax incentive policies in place in this state.”

Former Texas Workforce Commissioner Tom Pauken, who is also running for governor, has stated that he, not Abbott, is the conservative candidate in the race. Abbott responded.

“What people who vote, especially in the Republican primary, are frustrated about are people who go out there talking a big game, but I’m the one who has the proven record fighting for conservative principles. I’m the one who sued the Obama administration 27 times. I’m the one who sued to challenge Obamacare the very day it was signed into law. I’m the only one who has been out there fighting for the second amendment. I’ve won cases in the United States Supreme Court fighting for the Second Amendment…I’m the only one who has that record of showing the steel spine to go against the big forces against the federal government to make sure that we keep Texas as free as possible.”

The complete interview is included below.

The 2014 Texas Primaries will be held on March 4^th, 2014.