Mothers Against Greg Abbott targets Texas governor in new ads: ‘This is how we wanna fight.’

The Mothers Against Greg Abbott Facebook group has more than 53,000 members, who are united across party lines to vote Governor Greg Abbott out of office in November. Founder Nancy Thompson says, “Texas is number one in business, it's at the bottom of every other issue that is important to Texas families...I think we could be doing better. So in order to vote for change we need people to go out, register to vote, actually make a plan to vote, and vote for change for Texas. And this year that means voting for Democrats.”

In order to reach more voters before November, Mothers Against Greg Abbott has released several campaign ads to connect with Texans, showcasing real mothers from all different backgrounds speaking out about the changes they want to see in Texas politics. “I've never experienced a government actively seeking to hurt other Texans like I have under Greg Abbott,” Thompson adds.

Their latest video ad, takes an emotional look at the stress parents have in preparing their children to go back to school, just months after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which claimed the lives of 21 victims.

“I mean, every single day we've been asking Governor Abbott for common sense gun laws, and he keeps on turning us down. Even the parents in Uvalde — they put together a petition and they've tried to talk to him numerous times asking for common sense gun laws and over and over again he has turned parents down. He's turned children down. He's turned Texans down, and that’s just not acceptable," says Thompson.

Video Transcript

NANCY THOMPSON: I've never experienced government actively seeking to hurt other Texans like I have under Greg Abbott. And we just started to know each other as Republican and Democrat. And it's so important that we learn how to talk to one another again. I wanted to bring people together and look at the big picture and start rebuilding our communities again.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: Welcome to a "Unmuted," I'm Brittany Jones-Cooper. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas was elected in 2014. And since then, he supported numerous controversial laws. Today, I'm talking to Nancy Thompson, a Texas mother who's working to vote Abbott out of office in November. You've started a movement of mothers in Texas. What activated you?

NANCY THOMPSON: So what ended up activating me to just protest to begin with was the fact that my son had caught a virus and he was in the emergency room. And the doctor told me that it just wasn't looking very good. He was going to have a recovery that was going to take several weeks. I was so concerned about the fact that they did get rid of the mask mandates in school, and I was worried that my son was going to get ill and possibly pass away. And I woke up and decided I'm going to go protest down at the Capitol, because I was just done. I'd had enough.

Texas is number one in business. It's at the bottom of every other issue that is important to Texas families. I didn't expect the photograph that I took out myself to go viral, and it did. After that, a movement was just born. We formed a Facebook group, and I thought we were going to get lucky if we got 50 people. Currently, we're at approximately 53,000. And I kind of hope that I have a message that resonates across this country, because I just imagine a different world for my kids to grow up in than the world we have right now. And we can't make that happen unless we try.

BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: What are some of your biggest concerns with Governor Greg Abbott and the impact he's having in Texas?

NANCY THOMPSON: He took away women's rights to choose, what they do with their own bodies, the fear that it's created where neighbors can tell upon other neighbors if someone has an abortion. I mean, he put a bounty on women. That's the one way to turn Texans against one another, and it's just a horrible way to live. They passed, you know, so many laws and further restricting voting rights to go after communities of color, and also the poor.

The way he's encouraging the families to be turned in for CPS that seek gender affirming care-- I mean, these are families that are doing the best for their children, or listening to their children, and they're incredibly good families. Creating a fascist state where Texans are turning on other Texans, and that is just wrong.

BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: And when it comes to gun control, what are mothers in your group advocating for?

NANCY THOMPSON: I mean, every single day we've been asking Governor Abbott for common sense gun laws, and he keeps on turning us down. Even the parents in Uvalde, they put together, you know, a petition and they've tried to talk to him. And over and over again he has turned parents down, he's turned children down, he's turned Texans down.

BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: Mothers Against Greg Abbott has been releasing ads that have garnered millions of views online.

- A decision will need to be made on termination. I wish I could tell you what to do. But there is only one person who can make this choice.

- How much time do I have?

- And that person is Greg.

- Greg?

NANCY THOMPSON: The mission was to create a battle cry for women across Texas to say that they've had enough of Texas politics and the Texas GOP.

- They say nothing changes in Texas politics until it does.

- So we were called child abusers for loving and supporting our transgender children.

NANCY THOMPSON: We need to recreate our approach to messaging, and I don't know how else to do it then by example.

- We want real change for Texas.

- Now.

- Now.

- Now.

- Before history repeats itself.

NANCY THOMPSON: So we decided that we were just going to get together and create the messages that we wish that we could see.

- We used to talk every day.

- Until they labeled us enemies.

- Put us in boxes.

- Lied to our loved ones.

- And now we don't speak.

BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: Politics in our country are so polarized, especially in Texas. Can you tell me why it's important for you to get mothers to work across party lines?

NANCY THOMPSON: To me it's so important that we start breaking down all the little boxes that politicians put us in. And we can't do that unless we work together for a common good for all Texans and all Americans.

BRITTANY JONES-COOPER: When we are divided, it strengthens their power, and that's a tactic they've been using for decades. And it's like we've got to wise up at some point and just work together.

NANCY THOMPSON: Absolutely. I hope that everyone recognizes that they have a voice in order to change the government that we choose. All women across Texas, you don't have to vote the same as your husband, or as your grandfather, or as your father, or as your uncle. You have a mind of your own. What I thought was a battle cry for Texans has now turned into a battle cry for the whole entire country. So there's women across the United States that are saying, yeah, I've had enough too. It's really important that women team up with other women and that we work with our allies to rise up and say that we've had enough.

[MUSIC PLAYING]