Two major Texas newspapers tell contrasting stories in their endorsements for the gubernatorial race. Republican incumbent Governor Greg Abbott is running for re-election. His Democrat challenger is Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke. The Dallas Morning News (DMN) endorsed Governor Abbott. The Houston Chronicle endorsed O’Rourke. Go figure.

Both Dallas and Houston are Democrat-led big cities. Houston is traditionally a bit more liberal than Dallas, but in these endorsements, you’d think that Dallas is a conservative city. It is not, by the way, so keep that in mind. The Houston Chronicle endorses Democrats over Republicans on a regular basis. So, when a conservative garners its endorsement, it is worth noting. That is what I did in a post on Sunday when I mentioned that the Chronicle endorsed Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer over incumbent Democrat Lina Hidalgo for Harris County Judge. It’s a non-judicial position, akin to being the county’s CEO and chief public safety officer. I guess Hidalgo is too bat-crap crazy for even the Chronicle. I mean, she brought in Hanoi Jane Fonda to campaign for her. C’mon, man.

I was pleased to read that the DMN endorsed Governor Abbott in an op-ed on Sunday. Credit where credit is due when a little common sense breaks through, right?

Texas is a strong and prosperous state.

Much of that strength and prosperity flows from the electorate’s persistent preference for limited government, low taxes and light regulation that allow business to take root and entrepreneurship to bloom.

For much of his tenure as governor, Greg Abbott, 64, has led Texas according to the pro-business, pro-independence traditions that trace to the origins of the state.

Where he has used the power of government, he has generally done so in ways that encourage economic development, protect the rule of law, reduce taxation, invest in the future and enhance public education.

He has been a reliable leader for a changing state. Texas is a top destination for new and relocating businesses. Its population is surging. Its major regions are growing. In Austin, state leaders are trying to decide how to divvy up a record $27 billion budget surplus even as residents were delivered property tax relief in the last legislative session.

As the op-ed continued, it points out that Texas thrives as a state because of, not despite of, Abbott’s governance that follows conservative principles that promote economic growth and protect personal liberty. It goes on to say that their endorsement isn’t a blanket endorsement for the entire Republican Party of Texas (RPT) because it has some real problems. That’s true. Some real changes in leadership need to be made. But, for now, there’s an election in a couple of weeks and it’s important that Republicans and independent voters, even some conservative Democrat voters, come together and vote for Governor Abbott’s re-election.

The DMN endorsement notes that Abbott, once a pro-business moderate, has become more insular, meeting less often with broad groups of business leaders.

While Abbott isn’t perfect, O’Rourke would be a disaster for Texas. DMN seems to agree.

Abbott’s opponent, Democrat Beto O’Rourke, 50, continues to demonstrate that he is an effective campaigner who is willing to go into solidly red parts of this state to try to sway voters. His openness is appealing in contrast to Abbott’s insularity.

But after all of these years of campaigning, for the Senate, for president and now for governor, it’s still unclear how O’Rourke would lead. He seems to shift with the moment and the audience.

While he uses moderating language, many of his root ideas flow from progressive ideology, from eliminating the STAAR test to his statement on the campaign trail that sending state troopers and guardsmen to the border was a “solution in search of a problem.”

True enough. O’Rourke doesn’t seem to know what he stands for. His opinions change depending on the audience. For example, one day he’s criticizing the Biden administration for its dereliction of duty on the southern border, the next day he’s all about blanket amnesty and no walls or law enforcement measures against illegal immigrants.

The Houston Chronicle thinks O’Rourke is the right man for Texas, though. Why should Texans give Abbott another term in office, it asks?

We’ve watched an erstwhile moderate Republican, a politician in the Reagan-Bush mold (we thought), with an inspiring personal story of overcoming a tragic injury to ascend to the highest office in Texas government, expend more time and energy concocting political stunts and signing on to cultural-issue antagonisms rather than taking seriously the challenges that affect the state as a whole. In conjunction with his GOP cohorts, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and disgraced Attorney General Ken Paxton, Abbott’s disdainful approach to governance has come to epitomize the Ugly Texan. No wonder some of our fellow Americans encourage us to follow through on our absurd threats of secession.

A statewide officeholder since 1996, Abbott is asking Texas voters to keep him in office another four years. The question is, why? What, for the good of Texas, does he hope to accomplish in another term that he hasn’t accomplished in the previous two?

We can think of two reasons why he’s running, both self-serving: One, he’s eager to continue his bow to entrenched political power in this state. He’s happy to serve the deep-well source of his campaign largesse and content to exercise power for power’s sake. Two, he’s positioning himself — like his Florida counterpart — to run for president if Trump doesn’t.

This is where I offer my two cents as a Texas voter and a resident of Houston – the majority of Texans approve of Abbott’s “stunts” to draw attention to Biden’s border crisis and the lack of urgency the administration shows in securing the southern border. Also, I have maintained all along that Abbott will not run for president. I am still unconvinced he will. DeSantis? Yes. Abbott? I’ll believe it if and when he announces his candidacy.

After several paragraphs of regurgitated liberal Democrat talking points, the Houston Chronicle declares that Abbott isn’t the man for the job of governor. It does admit that Texas is doing well economically, adding thousands of new residents every week and major companies investing in Texas. But, O’Rourke is their guy. He’s a “slightly tarnished Democratic darling.”

Despite the long odds, we believe Beto O’Rourke would make a strong governor for the people of Texas, and perhaps even more importantly, an inspiring leader. A candidate who has visited all 254 counties, who conscientiously reaches out even to Texans who reflexively spurn his party, would, we believe, be governor for all the people, not just the activist few who either fund races or faithfully vote in party primaries. Unlike his opponent, O’Rourke still believes that government can be a force for good.

Admittedly, we have questions about the 50-year-old former El Paso city councilmember and one-term congressman who introduced only three bills that became law. With no executive experience, he proposes to govern a vast, complex state of nearly 30 million people. At times during his campaign for the U.S. Senate against Ted Cruz in 2018 and his brief, quixotic campaign for the presidency two years later, he seemed to lack gravitas. (Jumping atop a barroom table lingers in the mind.)

Those reservations pale in contrast to the vision, energy and optimism O’Rourke would bring to the governor’s office. During his recent visit with the Chronicle editorial board — Abbott , as always, was invited but declined — the Democratic candidate laid out a list of priorities that, if enacted, would make the Lone Star State, not the ogre, but the envy of the nation. We Texans would have reason to brag again.

It goes on to recite O’Rourke’s positions and proposals to turn Texas into a progressive Utopia. No thank you. The success of Texas as a state comes by design. A flakey weirdo who can’t win an election, like O’Rourke, is the last person Texas needs to lead it into the next four years. I’m ready for Greg Abbott’s third term as governor.

Two poll results released today show Abbott up by 9 points over O’Rourke. From Real Clear Politics:

Texas Governor – Abbott vs. O’Rourke Spectrum News/Siena Abbott 52, O’Rourke 43 Abbott +9
Texas Governor – Abbott vs. O’Rourke The Hill/Emerson* Abbott 53, O’Rourke 44 Abbott +9

The RCP average shows Abbott up by 9.3 points. I expect that lead to hold.