FORT WORTH, Texas — Security at the southern border and the electric grid have dominated the conversation in Texas for a long time. It's also dominated Beto O'Rourke's rallies and campaign stops as he seeks to unseat Greg Abbott as governor.
But voters are interested in more than the border and grid, experts say. And though he's the frontrunner to win the Democratic nomination for this year's gubernatorial race Tuesday night, those same experts say O'Rourke has to widen his platform and focus on other issues that worry Texans versus criticizing the current governor if he's to defeat him.
Specifically, the Democrat would do well to expand his scope.
"Most people, particularly when talking about state and local elections, are really focused on bread-and-butter issues," said Clyde Barrow, chair of the political science department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
"There's education and there's higher education. There's the whole issue now with the trans students, there are same-sex marriages, abortion is a huge issue," he continued. "So it's like both candidates are avoiding the issues that the polls show that voters are really interested in."
Abbott, also expected to successfully fend off the GOP competition on Tuesday, recently signed the most restrictive abortion legislation in the U.S. into law. And in recent days, the governor called for parents of kids who undergo gender-confirming procedures to be investigated as potential abusers.
Those actions keep him in voters' minds, Barrow said. But not all Texans support his agenda.
"He's very much in the mainstream of the Texas Republican Party and Republican voters. But he's not in the mainstream of where the majority of Texans stand on those issues, based on public opinion polls," he said. "And I think Beto needs to capitalize on that."
Texas hasn't had a Democrat in charge of the state for 27 years. Barrow says it's possible that changes in 2022, but O'Rourke would have to articulate a clear policy.
The most recent poll shows O'Rourke lagging behind Abbott in a head-to-head matchup by about nine points. Barrow says it's a significant margin, but not one that's impossible to overcome in the months ahead.
"This is always the difficulty that Democrats face," the professor said. "They can't turn out their voter base. So Beto needs to figure out a way to turn out that voter base as turnout, (change) that public opinion if he expects to win."