In less than a week, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will be holding the only gubernatorial debate between Gov. Greg Abbot and his democratic challenger, Beto O'Rourke. 

"That goes to show just how important South Texas is, not only to the state of Texas races, but to the nationwide races, as well," Hidalgo County Democratic Chairman Richard Gonzalez said.

Students at UTRGV are feeling different emotions about the upcoming debate on Friday.

"I feel it's awesome; it's a great opportunity for people to get to know the Valley," UTRGV student Zachary Ugarte said. "The school's an up-and-coming school, it's one of the biggest schools in Texas."

"It provides an opportunity for students to be able to vote, and it's a good place for public discourse," UTRGV student Christian Ontiveros said.

The latest UT at Tyler poll shows Gov. Abbot up by nine points, and just a week ago it was only five points.

Immigration and gun control are key points for students deciding who they plan to support as the next governor. 

"I'll be voting for Governor Greg Abbott," Urgante said. "I feel immigration is a very important part, especially since I grew up on a border town. Immigration is a strong point when it comes to policy over who I vote for."

"I'm voting for Beto," UTRGV student Zabdiel Rothschild said. "I think he's a little more grounded and simply the fact that I believe Abbott has mishandled a lot of the crisis here in Texas."

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