history, crystalized the stakes of the election as Abbott waved off calls for tougher gun laws. O’Rourke said the shooting, one of the deadliest classroom attacks in U.S. More than 5 million early votes had been cast ahead of Election Day in Texas, where anger over the Uvalde school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead in May intensified an already heated contest in which both candidates’ campaigns combined spent more than $200 million.įive months later, state police still face pressure for failing to confront the gunman sooner at Robb Elementary School. Greg Abbott sought a record-tying third term Tuesday while Democrat Beto O’Rourke reached for an upset in America’s biggest red state in one of the most expensive midterm races in the U.S. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Republican Texas Gov.