(NewsNation) — Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and his Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke faced off Friday in their only debate before the November election.

In the heat of the debate, while discussing the migrant crisis in the United States, O’Rourke said that “no one cares more about the security and safety of the border than those who are raising children there.”

O’Rourke blamed Abbot’s “hateful rhetoric” for the massacre at the Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

“This hateful rhetoric, treating human beings as political pawns, talking about invasions and Texans defending themselves is how people get killed at the WalMart in El Paso, (as well as) the gentlemen in Hudspeth that we just learned about yesterday,” O’Rourke said. “This is incredibly dangerous for Texas and is not reflective of our values.”

Abbott responded that O’Rourke “wants to perpetuate the open border policies and mischaracterize exactly what’s going on.”

The governor also promised more big cities outside the state would receive migrants who crossed the southern border.