Gov. Greg Abbott swung through downtown Montgomery on Wednesday, stopping at the Old Montgomery Steakhouse to rally Republican voters with a week of the election cycle still on the clock. His message, by his own account, was that Montgomery County is the most important county in Texas right now.
The stop was part of Abbott’s “Let’s Roll” get-out-the-vote tour, according to gregabbott.com. The governor was joined by state Sen. Brett Ligon, state Rep. Will Metcalf, and Republican House candidates Kristen Plaisance (District 3) and Brad Bailey (District 15).
The Houston Chronicle reported that a line of at least 100 people formed outside the restaurant. Abbott called Montgomery County the most pivotal county in the election and said its turnout will dictate who wins Texas, per the same report.
Why Montgomery County Matters to Republicans
The Chronicle’s account notes that Montgomery County gave Donald Trump his largest county victory margin in the nation in 2024, when 68% of registered voters turned out. The paper says Abbott and other top Republican candidates need to replicate those numbers to maintain the party’s decades-long grip on Texas, in an election cycle that most polls suggest will tilt toward Democrats.
The Texas Tribune reported that Montgomery County experienced record midterm turnout on the first day of early voting. That same analysis cited a benchmark that Republicans need at least 25% of overall turnout to come from counties outside the 25 largest.
Metcalf urged his constituents to vote and said Montgomery County can get out and save Texas, according to the Chronicle.
Where the Early Vote Stands
Through Tuesday, 137,255 ballots had been counted in Montgomery County, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter. Of those, 129,395 were cast in person and 7,860 came back by mail, and opening day on Oct. 19 was the busiest, with 18,837 voters.
Early voting continues through Friday, with Election Day on Nov. 3, per the same account. The county had 487,232 registered voters as of Tuesday, according to Montgomery County Elections, and any registered voter can use any early voting location during the early period.
Percentages vary by source and reporting window. Community Impact counted 104,054 ballots in the first week, about 21% of registered voters, and described a slight uptick over the 2022 midterm. Axios listed Montgomery at 18%, and Mark Jones, a political scientist, said lagging turnout in Republican counties would set off “warning bells” within the Abbott campaign.
Statewide Picture and the Hinojosa Attacks
Statewide, nearly 4.5 million Texans voted in the first seven days, outpacing 2022 but running slightly behind 2018, the Texas Tribune reported. Voters with prior Democratic primary history made up 35% of early ballots versus 33% for Republican primary voters, and more than 2.1 million Texans who voted in recent Republican primaries had not yet cast a general election ballot.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll found 72% of surveyed Democratic voters certain to vote, compared with 65% of Republicans, according to ABC13.
Abbott used the stop to go after Democratic nominee Gina Hinojosa. “Gina Hinojosa believes that hardworking Texans should give up more of their paychecks to the government,” he said, per his campaign’s release. The campaign claimed she supported a state income tax, voted to raise property taxes 40 times and voted to tax inheritance, none of which the available sources independently verify.
The Chronicle also reported that Abbott pitched his affordability plan, which includes a proposal to eliminate homeowners’ school property taxes and limit appraisal increases. He asked supporters to download the Abbott Impact app, which the paper says tracks whether a user’s contacts have voted and offers rewards for boosting turnout.
