Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley’s BBQ at Stanley’s BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
About 100 people descended on Stanley’s BBQ on Saturday afternoon to see gubernatorial candidate and “hometown boy” Greg Abbott and State Sen. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, for a campaign stop just two weeks before the Nov. 4 election.
Abbott spoke about many things, from supporting the Texas voter-ID laws to K-12 education, emphasizing higher education to a lesser degree.
“Reinstilling a genuine local control of education so you at the local level are going to be able to make the best decisions for the children here in Wichita Falls,” Abbott said in his short speech.
But when asked about K-12 education having a higher prominence than higher education in the gubernatorial race, Abbott said he has a platform based on universities.
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“I go talk to employers in the Permian Basin or in Houston, Texas, or even over in Gainesville, and they’re saying we need more trained graduates. So we’ll be working with schools like Midwestern or schools across the state of Texas at the university level,” Abbott said. “Part of the focus is on two-year programs; part of the focus is on four-year programs. Part of it is on at the top tier ensuring that we have five of the top 10 universities in the country based right here in Texas.”
Abbott’s stated goal of ensuring Texas is home to five of the top 10 universities in the country is a common talking point in his campaign, and although Midwestern State University is likely not included in that top five because of its size, Abbott touted the university’s role in contributing to the state’s workforce.
“Midwestern State is one of the quintessential universities that trains the workforce that we need for tomorrow. It is a workforce way beyond just Wichita Falls, but to build the workforce needs in the Permian Basin, in the Eagle Ford Shale, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, so it’s important that we make that connection between universities and colleges and workforce.”
Abbott has also stated in his campaign that the cost of higher education needs to be reduced, something he said he would do in multiple ways.
“We need to give college credit to students who make an AP score of three or above. Last year there were 19,000 low-income families that could have saved more than $1,000 had that law been into effect. Another is we need to make transferability of college credits better,” Abbott said. “What happens is sometimes students will go to a two-year college and transfer into a four-year college but lose an entire year of school college credit, costing them thousands of dollars.”
Abbott Oct. 2014
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley’s BBQ at Stanley’s BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photos by Bradley Wilson
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Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Kenneth Paxton, Jr., the Republican nominee for Texas attorney general, introduced gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Kenneth Paxton, Jr., the Republican nominee for Texas attorney general, introduced gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Kenneth Paxton, Jr., the Republican nominee for Texas attorney general, introduced gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke at Stanley's BBQ at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
MWSU Vice President for University Advancement and Public Affairs Howard Farrell gives a photo to gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. The photo was from a yearbook of Abbott's mother. Farrell said, "Am I going to remind the possible governor of his connection to Midwestern State University? You bet." Abbott said he was going to put the photo on his wall. Photo by Bradley Wilson
MWSU Vice President for University Advancement and Public Affairs Howard Farrell gives a photo to gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. The photo was from a yearbook of Abbott's mother. Farrell said, "Am I going to remind the possible governor of his connection to Midwestern State University? You bet." Abbott said he was going to put the photo on his wall. Photo by Bradley Wilson
MWSU Vice President for University Advancement and Public Affairs Howard Farrell gives a photo to gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. The photo was from a yearbook of Abbott's mother. Farrell said, "Am I going to remind the possible governor of his connection to Midwestern State University? You bet." Abbott said he was going to put the photo on his wall. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Ethan Metcalf, Wichitan editor, and Lauren Roberts, Wichitan photography editor, interview gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Ethan Metcalf, Wichitan editor, and Lauren Roberts, Wichitan photography editor, interview gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Ethan Metcalf, Wichitan editor, and Lauren Roberts, Wichitan photography editor, interview gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Ethan Metcalf, Wichitan editor, interviews gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Ethan Metcalf, Wichitan editor, interviews gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Ethan Metcalf, Wichitan editor, interviews gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
MWSU graduate Landry Russell at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
MWSU graduate Landry Russell at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
MWSU graduate Landry Russell at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Lauren Roberts takes photos of gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Lauren Roberts takes photos of gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
Lauren Roberts takes photos of gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at Stanley's BBQ in Wichita Falls, Texas Oct. 25, 2015. Photo by Bradley Wilson
