Governor candidate refuses to say if he would have backed a ban on interracial marriage if he were the Texas state Attorney General

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Texas Attorney General and the GOP's candidate for governor in the Lone State Greg Abbott is getting knocked around today for declining to tell a local newspaper whether he would have defended a ban on interracial marriage if he were the state's lawyer when it was being challenged.

Asked about the outdated law by the San Antonio Express-News editorial board as part of an endorsement interview, Abbott said: 'Right now, if there was a ban on interracial marriage, that's already been ruled unconstitutional.

'And all I can do is deal with the issues that are before me ... The job of an attorney general is to represent and defend in court the laws of their client, which is the state Legislature, unless and until a court strikes it down.'

He later argued that state government 'would be a dictatorship' by attorney generals if they were able to choose which laws to defend based on their personal preferences.

Republican gubernatorial nominee and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott waves to supporters at a rally last week. Abbott is under fire today for comments he made during an editorial board interview about interracial marriage

Abbott, left, wouldn't say today whether he would defended an interracial marriage ban if he'd been the state's lawyer at the time. Progressives attacked the non-answer today and characterized him as racist, even though his wife Cecilia, is Hispanic. They are pictured here at a 2012 event in Texas

A member of the Express News' editorial board explained in a write up of the interview that she gave him Abbott a chance to clarify his answer, and Abbott said, 'Actually, the reason why you’re uncertain about it is because I didn’t answer the question. And I can’t go back and answer some hypothetical question like that.'

Abbott intended to make the point that it would not be appropriate for him to 'dictate policy' as AG. That's the role of lawmakers. Something he went on to explain to the Express-News in detail.

But that's not how the discussion is playing out, particularly in progressive circles, even though Abbott's wife, Cecilia, is Hispanic.

If Greg Abbott is elected in November, as widely expected, Cecilia Abbott will become the state's first Latina first lady.

Recent polls have Abbott leading his Democratic opponent in the race, state senator Wendy Davis, by more than 10 points, and the GOP official's comments today on interracial marriage are unlikely to change that.

Still, Democrats in the state holding out hope for a victory in 15 days, and they attacked Abbott's nuanced response to the interracial marriage question today as being both vague and tinged with racism.

Texas Progress, a non-profit that specializes in rapid response communications against Republicans in the state, posted the first portion of the interview and blasted Abbott for refusing to answer the question.

'Wrong, Greg Abbott. You can and should answer a question like that. The answer Texans deserve to hear from a man that is running to be their Governor is a definitive: “No, I would not." '

The progressive organization said Abbott's answer shows 'just how out-of-touch and backwards' he is. It also hit him for advocating on behalf of the state's contentious voter identification law.

Democratic gubernatorial Democratic candidate Wendy Davis talks to supporters before casting her vote on the first day of early voting today at the Charles Griffin Sub-Courthouse, in Fort Worth, Texas. Davis said on Monday that Abbott's refusal to say whether he would have defended a law banning interracial marriage is 'troubling'

Davis also linked Abbott's position on interracial marriage to his support for the state's voter ID law

The U.S. Supreme Court said Saturday that it would allow the statute to go into effect ahead of November's election, despite pleas from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to block it. 

Abbott's office praised the Supreme Court's decision last weekend in a statement.

'We are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed that Texas' voter ID law should remain in effect for the upcoming election,' a spokeswoman for the Texas AG's office, Lauren Bean, said.

'The state will continue to defend the voter ID law and remains confident that the district court's misguided ruling will be overturned on the merits. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that voter ID laws are a legal and sensible way to protect the integrity of elections.'

Democrats believe that the laws purposefully disenfranchise black voters.

In discussing Abbott's interracial marriage conundrum today, Texas Progress accused him of defending a statute that 'intentionally discriminated against African American and Hispanics.'

Davis also linked his position on the interracial marriage ban to his support for the state's voter ID law.

'Greg Abbott won't say whether he'd defend an interracial marriage ban—troubling but not surprising from someone who defends a "poll tax," ' Davis tweeted. 

Abbott, left, speaks to a group of supporters on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, in Houston, Texas. Abbott has been wheelchair bound since a tree fell on him in 1984. He sued the property owner and won millions. Davis has made the incident an issue in the gubernatorial race

Abbott was asked if he would advocate on behalf of an interracial marriage ban by the Express-News after a Republican attorney general candidate in Wisconsin said recently that he would have defended the law if he were the state's lawyer even though 'it might be distasteful to me.'

'I've got to stay consistent with that — as the state's lawyer, it's not my job to pick and choose' which laws to uphold, the candidate, Brad Schimel, said.

Seeking to avoid the same media firestorm that followed Schimel's response, Abbott opted not to answer the hypothetical question when it was posed to him by the Express-News.

He did, however, give a similar explanation for why he would advocate on behalf of the state for a law even if he didn't agree with it.

'What kind of state would we live in if the public policies of this state were allowed to be determined by the attorney general?' Abbott said.

'The attorney general would have a super veto over the elected representatives, and that would be a chaotic form of government, contrary to our fundamental constitutional principles. It would be way beyond the separation of powers. It would be a dictatorship... by the attorney general.'

Abbott said he 'would love it' if the state's attorney had broad authority to set statewide policies.

'The state would look a whole lot more like me right now if I did abandon my role and exercised my magic wand and decided what cases I would defend and which I didn't, and therefore allowed me to dictate policy in this state,' he said.

'But I think that by doing what I do, I am maintaining the policy that I think is appropriate, and that is for each elected official to fulfill their constitutional obligations,' Abbott added. 

The Texas gubernatorial race has had no shortage of drama in the last several weeks, even before Abbott's comments today and the Supreme Court's mandate over the weekend.

Davis, whose claim to fame is an abortion rights filibuster she held on the state senate floor last year, has accused wheelchair-bound Abbott of denying other victims the same justice he received after he was injured while jogging more than three decades ago.

After a tree fell on Abbott he successfully sued the property owner and won millions. Davis noted his disability in an ad, featuring video of an empty wheel chair, and tried to shame him for litigating cases against other paraplegics and survivors of accidents and crimes.

The ad was roundly criticized in the media as too harsh but the Democrat has refused to back down from her claims or yank the commercial.