talking about his book on president george w. bush and the end of the cold war, when the world seemed announcer: now, republican governor greg abbott debates democratic challenger lupe valdez at the lyndon b. johnson presidential library in austin, texas. this is about an hour. >> in the texas constitution, it says texas is a free and independent state. the governor holds's the state highest office. >> all political power is inherent in the people. >> and it is up to the texans, from the rio grande to the red river, the panhandle to the gulf -- >> when you can't find a way, you go out and make a way, make it happen. >> they will decide in november who leads the lone star state over the next four years. >> make sure that texas will

remain a premier state in the greatest country in the history of the world. >> tonight, candidates debate the issues, setting the course for texas on immigration, taxes, and how we help those in need. listen close tonight. see if you like what you are hearing from your candidate. or are you willing to change her mind and your vote, like an independent texan can? >> good evening. we are coming to you live from the lbj presidential library on the campus of the mercy of texas at austin for the only texas gubernatorial debate this election season. hello, i am robert hadlock, the anchor at the news here in austin. i will be your host for the nexstar airmedia group special presentation. i will introduce you to your candidates. we begin with incumbent governor greg abbott, who is seeking

reelection, and his challenger, former dallas county sheriff lupe valdez. before we get started, we want to let you know this debate will be seen on-air and online in every nexstar media market from el paso all the way to texarkana. we also have broadcast partners tonight arrington this debate in dallas-fort worth, san antonio, and houston. let's introduce you to some of the partners here with us tonight. he write the panelists. steve spriester, an anchor in san antonio. , an anchora representing telemundo stations in dallas, fort worth, san antonio, houston. >> julie fine is a political reporter at nbc five in dallas-fort worth. and andy cerota, anchor and clinical reporter at kprc in houston. here is a rundown of the rules. each candidate will get 60 seconds to answer the main questions, 30 seconds for rebuttal, and if needed 30 seconds for follow-ups.

a bout will ring when their time is up. there are no opening statements and candidates will get one minute for closing remarks. all questions will be asked and answered in english. we are also presenting an interactive experience for our viewers tonight. follow #txgov debate. we have links to the result of a focus group with undecided voters. we go to steve spriester to begin things tonight. >> thank you, robert, and thank you, candidates. in the aftermath of mass shootings in parkland, florida and texas of the first baptist church of sutherland springs and the santa fe high school, i have talked to many students who say they don't feel safe at school. >> you see it happen so often now. it can be a few weeks or a few months apart. now it is kind of that thing where you expect it, you are wake up to find

that another student has lost their life today. >> in the wake of shootings in texas, florida, colorado, and connecticut, we have heard politicians talk, but a few changes have been made. before we get into details on how you would deal with this issue, i want to ask a question about arming teachers, a simple show of hands. we are going to allow you to answer this question more thoroughly, but raise your hand if you are for arming teachers in texas schools. thank you. governor abbott, you raise your hand. explain why you are in favorite of -- in favor of arming teachers. gov. abbott: first, let me thank nexstar for broadcasting this debate across texas. thank you to the university of texas's lbj school for hosting. also i want to thank schoenfeld as for participating. the reason why i support arming teachers is because it was one of the proposals that came out

of the three days of roundtables that i conducted. in the immediate aftermath of the shooting in santa fe, i went to the school in santa fe. i hugged those kids. i talked to the parents and teachers. then we had these roundtables to talk about very meaningful solutions, saying that never again should we allow this to happen, because schools are a place to learn, not a place for fear. in the aftermath of the three days of round-tables, we had multiple solutions, one of which was to give the choice to schools to arm people on the school, not necessarily teachers, but it could be a coach, it could be an administrator, it could be a staff member. it does not have to be a teacher , which is very, very important. it is not the state mandating that teachers be armed, but allowing schools at their choice. >> thank you, governor. sheriff valdez, you did not raise your hand. why are you not in favor of farming texas teachers? ms. valdez: every parent should

have the right and the child should have the right to go to school and learn and come home safely. teachers are understaffed, underpaid, under-resourced, and yet they continually do service to our community. i have forgotten the first thing i should have done is thank you all, and i will go back and thank you all because it is important to thank the host, the people watching, the people behind the scenes, the library, and of course the governor. but i will continue to say teachers should be teaching, not being armed and being the defense. i do believe that there should be some defense there, but teachers are not the ones. if they wanted to be armed, they should have gone to the military. but teaching -- we continually fortify our schools, but we won't invest in education.

we want to arm our teachers, but we won't pay them as the professionals they are. i believe they should be there to teach and take care of the children, as they are doing now. >> governor, you have 30 seconds for a rebuttal, if you choose. gov. abbott: i want to elaborate more on the conclusions that came out of the roundtables, because there were more strategies other than just allowing officials at school to be armed. the main thing was, one, we have to enforce current law. provide state must better mental health resources for students at school and people in our state of -- the state. the last thing is, we have to provide alternatives. some schools a lot of little detectors, other schools want other strategies. we need to give schools the strategies they choose to make sure their students are safe. >> sheriff valdez, you have 30 seconds. ms. valdez: i agree, we do need to spend more on mental health resources. i did talk to the students also.

some of them are downstairs right now and they said nothing about arming teachers. they are more concerned about the adult listening to them. they are literally marching in the street asking the adults to make decent decisions. we are the adults. they should not be begging us to do the right thing. we need to take those steps and do the right thing. [bell] >> governor abbott, a follow-up question. you directed the legislature to look at expanding the red flag laws for mental health issues or suspicion of mental health issues. if this expanded bill comes to your desk, will you sign it? gov. abbott: concerns have been raised about red flag laws, about it compromising second amendment rights without due process. that obviously would be a serious legal problem. if that were the way the law looked, that is something i could not support. what i do support are the

strategies that came out of the roundtable. you don't want to come up with these things off-the-cuff. having met with dozens of experts -- [bell] the importance of investing in mental health, providing greater law enforcement at schools, as well as enforcing current law. >> so you would not support the red flag law? gov. abbott: i would not support a red flag law that would take guns away from people without due process. >> thank you. sheriff, you have said in the past that you would be in favor of expanding red flag laws. expand on that a little bit. a lot of people would have issue with the fact that a texan is punished before a crime is committed. ms. valdez: they are not punished. there is due process. red flag laws were meant to stop people from doing harm to themselves and others. i believe that if you're saying, we're not going to do the red flag laws, then we're ok with people doing harm to themselves and others.

this is not about continued gun violence. this is about stopping gun violence. i think the governor has confusion between gun ownership and gun violence. [bell] ms. valdez: there is a difference. people who own guns and act appropriately and people who don't. >> norma garcia has our next question. >> thank you, steve. since 2001, the texas dream act has about college students in texas to receive in-state tuition and grants regardless of immigration status. for the last two sessions, there has been an effort to reveal this law, but it has failed. sheriff valdez, this is happening while the cost of college continues to rise. toernor, how will you afford keep this going for students who are not u.s. citizens? sheriff valdez, you have 60 seconds to answer the question. ms. valdez: we are always going to go on the choice that makes people better.

the dreamers have been here, they were raised here, they go to school here, they have jobs here. they are teachers, doctors, plumbers. this is the only country that they know. i believe in a path for citizenship for the dreamers. we need to prepare them to be here and be educated. public education is an equalizer, all the way up to college. and we need to be able to give them the opportunities that they need so they can go on being an asset to the community. they are currently employers and they continue to benefit the community and we need to make they can get the best in order to be productive in the community. 2013 you toldn the texas tribune you would not veto a repeal of the texas dream act. is that still the case? why or why not?

gov. abbott: the legislators who passed that dream act had a noble cause behind what they were seeking to do, but there was a flaw in the structure of the law that passed. the law said the students who received in-state tuition had to demonstrate they were on a pathway toward achieving legal status. however, there was no apparatus to make sure that in fact is being done. hence the law is flawed and has to be fixed. ms. valdez: so blaming the students for a broken immigration system? that's what we are doing, blaming the students because they can't go through a decent immigration system, so we continue to blame them. >> governor, would you like to respond? gov. abbott: the important thing we do in the state of texas is our job first is to make sure we educate the students. that's the purpose of the texas university system. in addition to texas students, texas universities have the

option of allowing students to attend to maybe from outside texas, and there are certain laws, rules, and regulations, whether you are from oklahoma, new mexico, or new zealand -- ms. valdez: but they live here. gov. abbott: one thing about the united states of america, this country has been based upon the rule of law. the rule of law trampled the principal -- >> that is all the time we have. the next question comes from julie fine. -- pay texans play property taxes and that money goes straight to school funding. a decade ago, school funding was split equally between state funds and property taxpayers. now local property tax payers are picking up nearly 10% more. governor abbott, what is one thing you will do to specifically lower the property tax burden? gov. abbott: i have talked to texans across the state, and they are fed up with skyrocketing property taxes. they agree that no government should have the ability to tax

you out of your home. we after a memory this -- people who own homes are not renters of the property from the city they are paying taxes to. we need to reform this in a way that will allow voter approval before taxes are increased. my property tax plan, which you can find by going to gregabbott.com, is very clear. it limits government's ability to raise your taxes, and also it gives you, the homeowner, the authority to fire your tax appraiser by adding an election process for tax appraisers. >> sheriff valdez, you have 60 seconds. what is something you would do to lower the property tax burden? ms. valdez: we cannot talk about property tax without talking about public education. the governor says he doesn't keepsaxes raised, but he putting less and less money into

education. 40% --s ago, it was over 45%. now it is almost under 30 something. and this year, they are seeking to cut 3 billion more. i think it is funny how he says they can't raise taxes, but they cut themselves on the back and wink because they are pushing the burden down to the local communities. every time they put less funds into education, the local community has to take up the slack. therefore, they have to raise property taxes, homeowners taxes. it doesn't make sense to me that you keep pushing the burden down, but yet you won't allow them to do anything. the state needs to pay its fair share. [bell] gov. abbott: cities and counties don't provide education, but they do raise your property taxes. they have the ability to raise your property taxes by 8% per year. the people at home, do you have

the ability to give yourself an 8% raise every year? i don't think so. that is what cities and counties do. i want to limit the ability -- ms. valdez: but you can't limit it. gov. abbott: from being able to increase property taxes above 2.5%. ms. valdez: the two most expensive things for property taxes are public education and healthcare. if you keep putting less money into this, they have to do something. they don't want to ignore their folks. they have to do something. so you are pushing the load on them and therefore bringing up the property taxes. the state needs to pay its fair share and quit dumping on the local community. >> quick follow-up. you both talk about what you would like to do to lower the burden. how do you get the legislature on board? last session, they could not agree on a property tax cap. gov. abbott: one thing i have experienced, that every legislator running for office has experienced, they get complaints from homeowners across the state and they are going to be coming back into the

session knowing they have to do something about property taxes. [bell] gov. abbott: the good thing about my reform is it reduces the robin hood reallocation of money, which goes directly to helping our schools. >> sheriff, 15 seconds. ms. valdez: it is still the same thing. you can't say it is their fault when you keep putting the load on them. we continually cut education funds, and yet they have to do something to keep educating the families. [bell] gov. abbott: if i could add, one thing that is clear -- >> you both had 15 seconds. gov. abbott: -- the plan to cut your property taxes. >> sheriff, 10 seconds to respond. ms. valdez: i am the only candidate on this stage who knows that is not correct. you need to make sure to have the state pay its fair share. [bell] >> next question, andy cerota. >> we asked viewers and voters to send us their questions for the candidates. this one is via twitter from

edith diaz. she is asking, what can we do to better prepare for disasters like hurricane harvey? we were wondering that same thing. a year has passed since harvey, yet many people from beaumont to rockport filed for assistance from fema, but there are families all across southeast texas right now still struggling to rebuild. recently released research, one in five residents in a 24 county area experienced severe damage to their homes and 8% remain displaced from their pre-harvey home. when the texas legislature convenes in january, as governor, will you tap the state's $11.9 billion rainy day fund? the largest rainy day fund in the country. would you tap that to help texans still struggling from harvey? ms. valdez: [speaking spanish]

even the question is ridiculous. first of all, my condolences go out to the families who are still struggling and suffering. when i visited rockport, houston, and all those areas, the families were still struggling to put their lives together. a police officer or law enforcement, anytime there is a cry for help, they rushed to the scene and do something about it. when the leaders of these areas call the governor and ask for help, his immediate response was, stop complaining, fill out the forms. and yet we have a rainy day fund. he called a special session for bathrooms, but does not call a special session when people are dying. the rainy day fund is the biggest savings account in the united states. governor, it rained. [bell]

>> sheriff valdez, thank you. governor, you have 60 seconds to answer. gov. abbott: i made almost 70 texans whog and help were affected by hurricane harvey. understand this. when a disaster is declared, the governor has the authority to spend state money without having to call a special session to tap the rainy day fund. we are providing hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars to cities, counties, and schools , all of which will be repaid from the rainy day fund internet session. on top of that, the governor has a responsibility to negotiate with the federal government for federal disaster aid. i negotiated $30 billion to help rebuild texas. fundis more disaster aid than the state has received in response to a disaster in the history of the state of texas. theave been able to amass

resources to ensure we are going to be able to not just rebuild, but rebuild texas better than before. [bell] >> so you are saying you will not tap the rainy day fund. gov. abbott: to the contrary. to be clear, we have already spent money from the state budget that will be required to be drawn down from the rainy day fund. in a time of disaster, the governor has the authority to advance spend that money. so money has already been spent that will be required to be repaid from the rainy day fund. .1. but .2 is that we will be considering the multitude of other expenses that cities, counties, and schools have been dealing with -- >> governor abbott, thank you. sheriff valdez, 30 seconds for a rebuttal. ms. valdez: it took forever for him to answer the call. texans themselves went from all parts of texas to try and help

before he actually did something. as i said, law enforcement rushes to the scene when something is going wrong. we need a governor that is going to do the same thing, not just tell people to fill out the paperwork. >> governor abbott, 30 seconds for a rebuttal. gov. abbott: people watching on tv will or member this time a year ago on a daily basis, i was on tv screens talking to you from the scene of what was going on. people will remember in houston, this month, september of last inr, i was giving houston excess of $100 million to help them with their needs. i provided checks to every jurisdiction that was affected to make sure they would have every dime they needed. [bell] >> that's all the time for this question. steve spriester has our next question. >> we are going to start with governor abbott.

earlier this year, house speaker joe straus called for the state preservation board to take down this small plaque inside the capitol building. it has been in the capital since 1959 honoring soldiers who fought for the confederacy. it says the civil war was not a rebellion and the underlying cause was not slavery. nearly every historian in the country says that is wrong. as governor, you are chair of the state preservation board. if reelected, will you order the removal of this plaque? why or why not? gov. abbott: this plaque was put up at a vote by the texas legislature. if the texas legislature -- it is their responsibility to take it down. should they take it down because of the factual inaccuracy? absolutely, and i will be working with the legislature on that issue. but because the legislature was the body that put it up, it is the legislature's responsibility to take it down.

i don't think a governor should unilaterally have the authority to be dismissive of an act of the legislature. if you can do that with one issue, you can do that with virtually any issue, and i think that raises questions. >> sheriff valdez, if you were elected, would you take down this plaque? ms. valdez: i come from a family that was needlessly abused by law enforcement, so i understand that oftentimes when someone has been hurt, there is distress and tension. first, do no harm. that is the first thing we have to look at. first, do no harm. then change the circumstances. lastly, change the outcome. if that plaque is doing harm to someone, then we should come to the table and do something about it. whether it is the legislature or somebody that puts up stuff in the building or whatever, we just need to take care of it and get it done.

>> so you would take down that plaque? ms. valdez: yes. >> governor, 30 seconds. gov. abbott: again, i look forward to working with the legislature to address the plaque that is in the capital that has factually flawed information. >> and you will push the legislators to do that? gov. abbott: yes. >> thank you. sheriff valdez, you have 30 seconds. ms. valdez: he promised a lot of the same things four years ago. if you look at some of the issues, these are some of the same issues that were coming up four years ago. every four years, he agrees to do certain things, including giving teachers they raise, and it doesn't happen. we need to get things done and is somebody to do them. >> thank you, sheriff. norma garcia with the next question. >> sheriff, we will start with you. this deals with border security.

soldiers, members of the military, have been sent to the border for more than 100 years. the current employment of the national guard is nothing new. right now there are about 250 texas guardsman along the border. their duty is only to observe and report illegal activity. do you think this is good news -- good use of our resources? why should taxes pay for these deployments rather than solely the federal government? sheriff valdez, 60 seconds. ms. valdez: first of all, currently we have some of the safest cities along the border. mcallen,brownsville, have all been seen as some of the safest cities on the border. and putake $800 million troops on the border. we militarize the area. i would hope that if he continues to do that, he gets the money from the federal government.

this is a federal issue. if we are talking about a crisis , then we should take that money and put it into a genuine texas crisis. public education, healthcare is things that will touch both parties, rural and urban areas, and all around. we need to put our money in texas. texas needs to use their money for things that will improve texas, not things that the national government is supposed to be taking care of. [bell] >> governor, 60 seconds. gov. abbott: with my work with the federal government, the federal government is paying for the national guard on the border. second, the reason why i am working to make sure that we do secure the border is because i want to go after the human traffickers, the sex traffickers, the cartel members, those who threaten us, like gang members -- the rise of ms13 gang members in the state of texas -- i want to do something to put a stop to that. let me tell you a story about a

teenage girl i met in mcallen when i first ran for governor. she was talking about her brother, who was playing a pickup game of soccer, and he had to choose whether a son of a cartel member would be on his team or not. what would be the consequences if he chose that player? what would be the consequences if you didn't? i promised that girl i would make sure as governor, i would not force her brother to have to make that decision again. >> sheriff valdez, you have 30 seconds. ms. valdez: we can have plenty of stories of hardship, and there is plenty of stories of hardship. he wantedhat he named to stop are being stopped. as a matter of fact, every day there is groups that are not allowed to come through because they have some signs of maybe criminal activity. what we are putting the military up against is people who are escaping torture, who are trying

to find a better life. [bell] ms. valdez: and yet we put the military after them. >> governor, 30 seconds. gov. abbott: it is not being done. that is why i was in dick allen two weeks ago announcing the opening of the new texas anti-gang center where the federal, state, and local officials work together to go after these games -- these gangs. that is on top of one's we have opened around the state. ,wo more anti-gang centers because gang activity, including ms 13, is spreading across the state, and i am the only person running for governor who will do anything about it. [bell] ms. valdez: if they are coming across the state, it is because you have been in office the last four years, because you let them in. >> that is all the time we have for that question. julie, you are next. >> you can build roads through tolls and taxes, and we need roads to handle the new people

coming to texas. governor, almost a year ago you told tax dod to remove new roads in the future planning. gov. abbott: i am very proud of what we have gotten. -- what we have done. i made a promise that we would build roads without using taxes, fees, tolls or debt. the special allocations that we made, we have been able to dedicate $7.5 billion a year for 10 years. $75 billion without raising taxes, fees, tolls or debt. the largest road building fund that has ever existed, that i know of, by any state in the u.s. without having to use taxes, fees, totals for debt. if you drove here from dallas, he passed dozens of construction projects on i-35.

we have so many roads being built across the state of texas. you are not favorable roads. heidi plan on paying for roads in texas? we need to use the taxes that we are collecting right now for those purposes. we need to use the gasoline tax, the license tax, all of these that we had agreed to use for roads and other things. that is not what they are being used for. prioritieshave our and actually use the money that we have collected for the reasons that we said we were going to collect it. we need to use that for better highways, instead of toll roots. we are aggregating death toll roads. we dedicate the -- instead of whole

roads. gov. abbott: one reason why they are moving to texas, texas has such a superior transportation infrastructure. [bell] but they also need schools. i have to go back to the fact that the state needs to pay its fair share for public education. ,ll those people who come here their main interest is employees. they want a healthy and educated workforce. putting ourtart funds into the future of texas and putting more funds into public education and health care. >> we moving on to the next question. >> while the images of flooding are what most will remember for years to come, hurricane harvey's winds tour through many

coastal communities. that is where the insurance association is supposed to step in. projects of thousands property owners, it is their only option storm insurance. for nearly a year now, they thestigated and examined performance. harvey victims say they are being shortchanged on their claims were not being paid at all. i have been given 65,000 right now, but i am at a halfway point. appointsthe governor the interest director and that person appoints the board of directors, what will you do to make sure that homeowners are fairly compensated? would you insist that the state attorney general investigate? first of all, we need to seriously take care of

the insurance problem. a week before harvey, our governor signed a law to give insurance more time to discuss whether they would pay or not. when harvey happened, he would not delay the enforcement of that law. to these people were crying the insurance, calling out for the entrance to do something about it. pay to playtart appointments. we all know about the whispered appointments. we need to appoint people who people inave the mind. we need to stop appointing people that donate to us, that take care of us -- we need to appoint people to these boards that actually work in that area. >> would you insist that the state attorney general investigate?

ms. valdez: i am going to do whatever i can to make sure that texans get the better deal. >> governor have it, you have 60 seconds to answer the question. gov. abbott: i come as governor, x act them to fully pay every valid claim. expect them to fully pay every valid claim. i would expect the attorney general to investigate. i talked to the insurance commissioner about six months ago to make sure that claims were being paid quick enough. he showed me records of that time. more than 95% of claims have been resolved. let me make one point. there is an issue about insurance rates going up. i am against the increase of insurance rates.

small business owners up and down the coast, they cannot afford an increase in the insurance rate. as governor, i am working to make sure the insurance will not be increased. [bell] >> you have 30 seconds for a rebuttal. ms. valdez: it still comes down to the same thing. four years ago, he made more or less the same promises and we still have not seen progress. you need to appoint people to boards that know what the business is, not just the people that are donating to him. we need to make sure that texans are taking care of first before we take care of the others. this is a classic example of what i look for in appointments. the person i appointed to be in charge of insurance is a lawyer who specialized in insurance law

and is a former judge. he knows the subject area very well. when i make appointments, it is the best qualified person who brings experience to the table. [bell] you're saying that if they donate to you, it does not matter? gov. abbott: i could care less if anybody donates he. my job is to make sure the state of texas is run well. >> thank you so much. we are hoping you are enjoying tonight's debate. a reminder, you can follow the debate on twitter. you can find links to a live focus group. you will also find supplemental information for all our questions that we are asking tonight. the first of our individual questions for each candidate. >> governor have it called a special session. abbott,he -- governor

you called a special session. there's been a number of issues raised with the measure with people worried about what caught -- boycotts. worried about cost. not want the suicide of a single texan on my hands. that if alling to say bathroom bill lands on your desk next legislative session that you will or will not sign it? gov. abbott: over the course of an past year, i have charted agenda that will completely transform the state of texas. taxes,o cut property create more jobs, cut regulations, make communities safer by arresting dangerous gang members, making schools

make oursuring that we state better, helping our veterans by giving them the economic opportunity that they need and health care that they deserve, as well as making sure the citizens do everything they can to take care of victims of hurricane harvey. that is going to be my agenda this coming session. >> the bathroom bill is not one of those priorities? gov. abbott: it is not on my agenda. >> will you sign it if it comes on to your desk? gov. abbott: i will not sign hypothetical bills. what i will be focused on during the session is what i can tell you. gangaldez: he listed members and several other things. i wonder, does that mean that trans-genders are gang members,

because that is what he was going after. i do not believe in malls that start out with fear. we need to stop this fear mongering and our laws and get down to what really matters to all texans. to have an equal and fair opportunity in this state, instead of just dealing with people you do not agree with. [bell] gov. abbott: one thing i know from talking to texans from amarillo to brownsville, from texas cannot to el paso, all texans want to make sure that they are safe. i talk about safety everyday. that is why law enforcement officials have endorsed me because the law enforcement officials know that i am the governor who will work with law enforcement to keep texans safe. ms. valdez: i have to answer that one. >> i will give you 15 seconds.

ms. valdez: they did endorse him. when i took over the sheriff's department, i made a lot of changes. i took on the good old boys. not everybody was happy. they have a habit of endorsing the incumbent but the governor holds the purse. [bell] ms. valdez: to hold with a vengeance. why wouldn't they endorsed him? -- endorse him. ago, until a few months you owed back taxes on several properties that you owned. should texans be concerned with the managing state finances? ms. valdez: not at all. i was never delinquent. i made it in payments. i made decisions. do i pay this bill come that extend thei just payments? that is exactly what i did.

i extended the payments. that is what a lot of texans would do. i never became delinquent. chose not to raise the rent of my mentors, so that i could just make it out in payments. paidabbott: i has always my property taxes on time. the state of texas pays its bells -- it's bills on time. we live within our means so that texas will retain the high aaa rating that we have. >> sheriff? ms. valdez: i pay my taxes like every other texan. inot of us have to do it payments. that is exactly what i did. that is the end of the individual questions. the next set of questions will be addressed to both candidates.

numbers came out from the u.s. census. -- striking to stay sick striking statistic. many believe the state is not doing enough to get the people insured. please state one thing that you will do to help more texans get health insurance. gov. abbott: very importantly, we need to understand success that we have had. the uninsured rate among texans has dropped 22%. the uninsured rate among texan children has dropped 23%. sex --anks the second second best date -- state in the u.s. come so we are making great progress. yearhing i worked on last about negotiating with the federal health and union services. it is for an 1115 waiver.

that through the medicaid system, texas would provide greater access to medicaid in the unique ways that texas needs. texas does not fit the approach that might work for kansas. [bell] able to cover was more people in the state of texas. in six texans do not have health insurance. we are the highest uninsured state in the u.s. texas leads the attack on pre-existing conditions. a pre-existing condition is that you are female and can get pregnant. now you are being singled out because you are female. over $10 billion a year on the table by not

accepting the medicaid extension. yes, he put in a system. the system where there was no accountability, measurement, and as you saw time and time in the media, it was profit over pain. you put your friends in an organization, they make a lot of money and the rest suffer. we need to accept the medicaid extension and invest in rural communities that have become a medical desert. [bell] ms. valdez: governor as it, we you stop your attack on ---existing conditions governor, will you stop your attack on pre-existing conditions? gov. abbott: under no circumstance will you lose coverage for pre-existing conditions. if it is repealed, congress has made clear, emphatically, that they will make sure that pre-existing conditions are covered.

i will work to make sure that pre-existing conditions in texas will be covered. with regard to medicaid -- the way she is talking about, it would put hook forpayers on the billions of dollars more every single year out of their pocket books. [bell] ms. valdez: it is a certain percentage and we are already paying that. we are already doing that. and accepte do it more than a million people on health care? gov. abbott: she wants to make a deal with the federal government. the government will not be able to continue to match what they are doing right now. [bell] gov. abbott: she is willing to write a blank check that i am not willing to write. thank you. we have another question from twitter tonight.

know what is your stance on marijuana legalization? in texas, only the sale of his pacific cannabis oil for epilepsy is legal. cannabis oil for epilepsy is legal. i am in favor of expanding medical marijuana. alcohol has no medical benefit, yet it is taxed. marijuanaat medical has some health benefits. that?n't we tax as far as recreational? i think it is up to the people. the people need to decide whether that will be in texas were not. -- or not. we should do the same thing. let the people decide on whether

we should accept more than medical marijuana. gov. abbott: parents or children who have epilepsy approached me a couple sessions ago about the possibility about cbd oil for the children. had tooved by what they say. i agree with them. had recently, i have discussions with veterans and parents of autistic children and others, who make a compelling case about legalization of medical marijuana. i have seen, however, that authorizing that, abuse is take place that raises concerns. i am not convinced yet. one thing i do not want to see is jails stockpiled with people booked for small possession of marijuana. i would want to reduce the penalty from a class b

misdemeanor to a class c misdemeanor. ms. valdez: we agree on something. decriminalizing marijuana. i honestly believe that we often have more in common than we had -- differences. i have heard plenty of doctors say they would much rather give veterans, mentally ill marijuana then opioids. you can write a prescription for opioids and have more problems for the people they prescribe that to the medical marijuana. [bell] gov. abbott: we want to make ite that if this is done, will have controls on it so that abuses do not take place. i do agree that we need to take all steps possible to make sure that we reduce opioid abuse. >> thank you for your answers. speaking of things that you

agree on, when it comes to family separations, governor, he said this must end. said i'm aware is our texas? specific give me a solution that is not being implemented right now that you would like to see when it comes to immigration and the border? clear, that to be is separating children from parents is always wrong. i was deeply disturbed when i heard about what was taking place. themediately called director for state homeland security. conversations, i was provided assurance that the separation of children from parents would be a policy that

would not happen again. theddition, i make clear to administration and the congress. this is congress authority only to fix a broken immigration system. what we saw was a symptom of a far larger program -- problem. we have to stop talking to cameras and start talking to each other. start coming up with solutions to the broken immigration system. [bell] ms. valdez: we both agree that we have a broken immigration system. what we do not agree on is the things that we do in texas to stop some of that cruelty. cool -- crration was uel. from the very beginning, it was cruel.

families should have never been separated. there are things that we are doing that is causing fear mongering. the bathroom walls. -- laws. all of this is just fear mongering. doinguth is, all we are is putting fear into communities. show me your papers bill was one of the cruelest bills ever signed. up and said this is a bad bill. it was still passed. [bell] ms. valdez: time to stop the hate. we have asked a lot of tough questions tonight so we want to give voters a chance to get to know more about you on a personal level. you both came from different backgrounds but your parents raised to you as texans.

describe are and personal moment where you felt texas proud russian mark -- texas proud? gov. abbott: there were a lot of moments in my life where i felt texas proud. listen. speaking for all of us, there is no moment in texas history that has made me more proud than to see the way our fellow texans responded to hurricane harvey. that is what texas is all about. people got their own boats out to rescue people. [bell] gov. abbott: it did not matter what race you were, it just matters that you were texan and he needed help. ms. valdez: first of all, he touched on one of them. texans helping texans. nobody asked what party you belong to when they came to help.

the other thing that made me so proud of being a texan is that i came from san antonio. antonio to be able to be candidate for governor. it was the proudest texas moment. [bell] >> time for closing statements. ms. valdez: first of all, thank you so much to our host, to the audience, to governor added and the people behind the scenes. i am running for governor because i want to give every day texans a fighting chance. i want to make sure that the government is fair, he will and provides opportunity or all of us. poor in santhe

antonio. i let on to college, the military, and as sheriff of dallas county i was over a budget of $160 million. with common sense, compassion and working with a lot of people, we made that agency into a model department. should bey in texas as big as the texas sky. i want to bring that to texas. god bless you. god bless texas. [bell] gov. abbott: we live in a state where anything is possible. a state where a young man's life can be broken in half and he can still rise up to become governor. you can succeed no matter your circumstance. texas evento make

better. we have elevated texas to new heights. texas is number one in the nation for doing business and job creation. our schools are better. graduation rates are at all-time highs. we have arrested thousands of dangerous criminals and taken them off the streets. if you reelect me as governor, i will never stop fighting for you and your family. together, we are going to keep texas the premier state in the world. >> we want to thank the foundation for being our venue tonight. a special thank you to our candidates again. thank you for helping us put this all together this evening. coverage continues right now with a special postdebate program. see how our focus group rated

the answers tonight. 6 early votinger opens october 22. get out there and exercise your right to vote. with control of congress in question, see the competition for yourself on c-span. .atch the debates make c-span your primary source for campaign 2018. monday, republican mike dewine and democrat richard cordray who are running for governor of ohio take part in a debate at marietta college that features in audience participation town hall format. we have live coverage on c-span3. also tomorrow night, pennsylvania governor debates

challenger scott ladner in her she come pennsylvania. our live coverage begins at 8:15 on c-span. >> tonight on the communicators, ofid, the administrator telecommunications discusses the company administrations spectrum policy. he is interviewed by howard. >> i know we like to talk about spectrum. 5g is the headline almost every day. will the u.s. win the race to 5g? the art in it. we are spending time looking at the data to see what we can do to help the private sector get where they need to be maintained leadership. if you ask people around the world, we are the undisputed

leader in 4g. we deployed it nationwide. now we are trying to leverage the investments that were made by the private sector. we have competition. china and korea are absolutely trying their best to be the first. it will be a race. that they arent doing the things that they need to push us forward. watch the communicators on c-span2. >> now the candidates for oklahoma governor on the andblican kevin stitt challenger drew edmondson. this is just under one hour.