Greg Abbott escalates the TV ad wars with an attack on Wendy Davis ethics as an elected official
The Greg Abbott campaign has gone in television with a direct attack on Democratic challenger Wendy Davis’ ethics, saying she voted on legislation as a state senator that personally benefited her business. The spot marks a political escalation by the Abbott campaign, which has largely ignored Davis in its TV ad campaign and instead focused on the Republican attorney general’s platform and personal story. While Davis has targeted Abbott relentlessly on TV, Abbott’s ads until now have been an effective contrast, signaling to his Republican base that he’s in good shape.
The new 30-second spot, which the Abbott camp says will air statewide on television, puts both candidates on TV with attack ads as the campaign for governor enters its final weeks before the November election. Abbott leads in the polls, but Davis advisers believe steady attacks accusing the long-time Republican office-holder of protecting political donors has had an effect. In the Abbott ad, an announcer accuses Davis of voting for a law governing a toll-road project in which her law firm was doing work. Against newspaper headlines and a black-and-white photo of Davis, the commercial says Davis’ legal work is part of an open FBI investigation.
Abbott campaign spokesman Matt Hirsch says in a statement accompanying release of the ad, “Electing a new governor is a serious proposition, and Texans deserve a candidate that will work on behalf of the public’s interest and not their own.” Davis has made Abbott’s ethics as attorney general a central theme of her campaign. She has accused Abbott of helping big campaign donors, including a hospital whose board chairman gave him $250,000 before he sided in court against victims of a problem doctor and contributors who benefitted from millions in questionable taxpayer subsidies.
The legal work cited in the Abbott ad involved legislative action by Davis in the Texas Senate that affected her law firm. As a senator, she voted on a bill governing a project by the North Texas Tollway Authority, which had hired her firm to handle condemnation cases. She also backed changes in collecting unpaid tolls that came before the NTTA hired law firms — including Davis’ — to carry out the collections. Further, as a state senator, she sought federal money for a transportation project being handled by her Fort Worth law firm.
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