FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC — In the wake of election results, progressive organizations and supporters across the nation celebrated Hinojosa’s victory as a historic milestone for public education, voting rights, reproductive freedom, and healthcare access. However, public political commentary and social media discussions also saw a sharp increase in ableist jokes targeting Abbott’s physical disability, and mobility devices.
Disability Victory firmly maintains that robust critique of Greg Abbott’s policy record, executive actions, and political ideology is legitimate, necessary, and vital to progressive advocacy. However, weaponizing an individual’s physical disability or mobility device as a political insult degrades fundamental standards of disability justice and inflicts collateral harm on all disabled people.
"Progressives can and should celebrate political victories enthusiastically, but our core principles demand that we never compromise on basic human dignity or resort to ableist rhetoric," said Neal Carter, Co-Founder and President of Disability Victory. "Greg Abbott’s policies should be challenged based on their harmful impact on Texas communities, not on his status as a wheelchair user. When able bodied progressives use ableist slurs or jokes to mock a conservative opponent, they send a dangerous message to millions of disabled Americans that their dignity is contingent on their political alignment. True solidarity means rejecting ableism everywhere, without exception."
Disability Victory emphasizes that the struggle for civil rights, bodily autonomy, and equal access requires consistency across all political spaces. Mocking a politician’s disability reinforces societal stigmas that treat disabled bodies as inherently inferior or worthy of ridicule, damaging the broader fight for disabled political empowerment and inclusion.
Disability Victory calls on progressive candidates, party committees, digital strategists, and allied grassroots campaigns across the country to practice anti-ableist communication standards by focusing political critiques entirely on policy, governance, and leadership outcomes.
About Disability Victory
Disability Victory is a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to building disabled progressive political power by empowering disabled progressives to run for elected office, hold public leadership roles, and work on political campaigns through accessible training, resources, and community building.
Media Contact
Neal Carter
Disability Victory
Email: neal.carter@disabilityvictory.org
Website: www.disabilityvictory.org