Mothers Against Greg Abbott Say They're 'Ready to Fight' Texas Gov in Video

A group of Texas mothers has unveiled an ad saying they are "ready to fight" to unseat Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

The Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC, which describes itself as a "diverse group" of Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans, posted the video on Friday on Twitter, where it has since been viewed more than 100,000 times.

In the clip, the mothers listed numerous reasons why the Republican governor should be ousted from office, including the failure of the state's power grid amid a deadly winter storm in 2021 and the loosening of the state's gun laws. They also cited a law that targeted how race and racism are taught in classrooms.

The group has endorsed Abbott's challenger, Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who has been closing the gap on the incumbent in recent polls.

"They say nothing changes in Texas politics until it does," one mother says as the ad begins. "Till the Texas power grid failed and our families froze without water and electricity," another adds.

"Until white Texas politicians removed our history from the classroom," a Black mother says. "Till they made it legal to buy a gun without a permit, and openly carry it," another woman says.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found a majority of Texas women (59 percent) support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons—although voters are split on the issue overall. The survey was conducted in mid-June, a few weeks after 19 children and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

The mothers also cited Texas' restrictive abortion law banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, which went into effect last year before the fall of Roe v. Wade put in motion the state's trigger law that will soon ban almost all abortions.

Senate Bill 8 empowered citizens to file civil lawsuits against abortion providers or anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion in the state. Texas politicians "put a $10,000 bounty on anyone who helped a woman get an abortion," a mother says in the ad.

Another mother, standing with her child, made reference to Abbott's order to investigate gender-affirming care for transgender children as abuse.

"Till we were called child abusers for loving and supporting our transgender children," the mother says.

One mom referenced the surge in bans on books about race and sexuality.

"Till Texas school boards banned books by Black and LGBTQ authors," she says.

And another spoke of Texans mourning the deaths of loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic due to Abbott and other lawmakers' efforts to block mask and vaccine mandates: "Till our loved ones died when Texas politicians fought mask and vaccine mandates during the worst pandemic in over 100 years."

"We want change for Texas now... before history repeats itself... and we're ready to fight," the mothers say in the video. "We live in suburbs...in big cities...and on farms and ranches. We are mothers. We are mothers. We are the mothers against Greg Abbott. Let's make Texas a safe place where all families can thrive again."

Nancy Thompson, the founder of the PAC, told Newsweek that the group's aim is to "get parents involved and get them to start voting against Greg Abbott."

"Mothers across Texas are so mad at Greg Abbott and the GOP's policies, that every single time he opens up his mouth, he alienates a new group of parents," she said. "What is happening right now in Texas isn't even Republican...it's the extremes of the party. They're trying to totally gain control over our personal rights and freedoms and the safety that we need in Texas for our families to be able to thrive.

"We're trying to focus on reaching all of the people in the middle and asking them to come join with us stand up for democracy and stand up against the far right extremism that we are seeing right now."

She added that her PAC endorsed O'Rourke the day he announced he was running for governor.

O'Rourke "is smart" and "has heart," Thompson said. "He cares about the lives of all Texans, and that includes Republicans. We are trying to vote in people who have good moral compasses…We think that he is going to continue to fight for every single Texan."

Pointing to O'Rourke's volunteer work during the winter storm crisis of 2021, Thompson added: "O'Rourke shows up for Texans in absolutely every way possible. And that's what we need."

Newsweek reached out to Governor Abbott's campaign for comment.

Update 7/18/22, 11:10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from Nancy Thompson.