• Greg Abbott won the race to remain governor just five months after the worst school shooting in Texas. 
• The families of the victims of the attack expressed their disappointment at his victory. 
• “Unfortunately, 21 people dead doesn’t change people’s minds,” a bereaved relative told the Texas Tribune.

Just five months after the Robb Elementary School School Shooting in Uvalde, the Worst School Shooting in Texas history, pro-gun Gov. Greg Abbott succeeded in the race to keep his post by a landslide. 

Abbott was criticized following the shooting on May 24, with critics slamming the governor for blaming the incident — which led to the deaths of 19 children — on gang violence and mental health concerns of the shooter.  

Beto O’Rourke, who challenged Abbott in the race, ran on a mandate to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15-style rifle. Many of the families directly impacted by the shooting were hoping he’d be the next Governor of Texas.

He’d previously accused Abbott of inaction following the Uvalde shooting, saying, “You are doing nothing. You are offering us nothing. You said this was not predictable. This is totally predictable when you choose not to do anything.”

Indeed, in June 2021, Abbott signed a law allowing people to carry handguns without a license. 

“Texas will always be the leader in defending the Second Amendment, which is why we built a barrier around gun rights this session,” he said at the time.

The families sat at a Uvalde bar and grill on election night for a results party, eagerly waiting for the election news, according to the Texas Tribune. But when it was announced that Abbott had won big and retained his support in Uvalde County, with more than 60% of voters backing the Republican. Disappointment descended on the party, reported the Texas Tribune.

“Unfortunately, 21 people dead doesn’t change people’s minds,” said Jazmin Cazares, 17, whose nine-year-old sister, Jacklyn, was killed at the Robb Elementary school shooting, the outlet reported. 

Veronica Mata, a kindergarten teacher, chimed in, “Everybody has the right to vote for whoever they want, we just hoped that they would see where we were coming from and see what we wanted to change.” 

Berlinda Arreola, the grandmother of 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza, killed in the shooting, said, “The only thing that is going to change people’s minds is when it happens to them.”

The fight goes on 

John Lira, the Democratic candidate who lost his challenge against Rep. Tony Gonzales for a Texas congressional seat joined the families at the watch party. 

According to the Tribune, he described O’Rouke’s loss, and Abbott’s win, as “crushing” but said, “it just means that the fight goes on.

“This community, these families, they fought their ass off for change, for a new vision, for somebody that will listen to them and be responsive to them and what happened to this community,” he added. 

Writing on Twitter, Kimberly Garcia, the mother of Amerie Jo Garza, said, “one thing is for sure, I will NEVER stop fighting for my children and yours.”

—Kimberly Garcia (@kim_amerie) November 9, 2022