Wendy Davis vs. Gregg Abbott Texas Gubernatorial Final Debate

DALLAS (AP) – Ebola, ethics and education are among the issues that dominated the final debate between Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott and Democrat Wendy Davis.

The debate Thursday night began only hours after federal officials confirmed that a patient in Dallas had the first diagnosed Ebola case in the U.S. Abbott and Davis vowed to keep Texans safe if there were more cases on their watch.

But fallout from a scathing audit of how Gov. Rick Perry awarded a half-billion in taxpayer dollars to private businesses made this a livelier and looser meeting than the first debate. Davis says Abbott failed as a watchdog, while Abbott questioned whether she profited from deals.

With Election Day only 35 days away, Davis must now hope her performance closes the gap in the polls.