“Calmly Fended Off Attacks” . . . “A Poised Greg Abbott” . . . “More Relaxed Presence”
San Antonio Express-News’ Peggy Fikac And Aaron Nelsen: “Abbott Calmly Fended Off The Attacks.” “Abbott calmly fended off the attacks, painting himself as a warrior against an overreaching federal government while seeking to tie his opponent to an unpopular president, at one point asking Davis whether she regretted having voted for Barack Obama.” (San Antonio Express-News, 9/19/14)
Dallas Morning News’ Christy Hoppe: “[Davis] Failed To Rattle A Poised Greg Abbott.” “Wendy Davis came out swinging in the first debate in the race for governor Friday, accusing her rival of hurting schoolchildren and helping to repress votes. But she failed to rattle a poised Greg Abbott.” (Dallas Morning News, 9/19/14)
Austin American-Statesman’s Jonathan Tilove: “Abbott Appeared A Warmer And More Relaxed Presence Than Davis, Who Seemed Stiffer And More Tightly Scripted.” “Despite his relative lack of debate experience in his long career in statewide politics, Abbott appeared a warmer and more relaxed presence than Davis, who seemed stiffer and more tightly scripted.” (Austin American-Statesman, 9/19/14)
Texas Tribune’s Jay Root: “Abbott Did Seem To Catch Davis Off Guard . . . He Asked Her If She Regretted Voting For Obama.” Abbott did seem to catch Davis off guard when he was given the opportunity to pose a direct question to her. He asked her if she regretted voting for Obama.” (Texas Tribune, 9/19/14)
- Root: “At One Point The Debate Seemed To Go Slightly Off The Rails When Davis Attempted To Offer A Rebuttal.” “At one point the debate seemed to go slightly off the rails when Davis attempted to offer a rebuttal to Abbott when it was her turn to pose a question directly to him — in this case involving school finance.” (Texas Tribune, 9/19/14)
Dallas Morning News’ Wayne Slater: “Strategists Inside The Davis Camp Want To Press Abbott Into Making A Mistake, Something He Didn’t Do Friday Night.” (Dallas Morning News, 9/19/14)
MSNBC’s Michael LaRosa: “Abbott Ignored Davis’s Attempts To Draw Him Into Heated Exchanges.” “Abbott ignored Davis’s attempts to draw him into heated exchanges and took his best shot at the Democrat when he asked her if she regretted voting for President Obama. Davis laughed it off and pivoted back to her campaign messages.” (MSNBC, 9/20/14)
KBTV: “She Wouldn’t Answer And Instead Digressed.” “Abbott delivered his best shot upon asking Davis whether she regretted voting for president Obama. She wouldn’t answer and instead digressed.” (KBTV, 9/19/14)
KDFW: “Abbott Took A Shot. Davis Dodged The Question.” “Abbott stuck to comments about his own record, davis took opportunities to talk about her opponent and addressed him personally during the panelist’s questions. When it came time for the candidate portion, Abbott took a shot. Davis dodged the question.” (KDFW, 9/20/14)