Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed on Thursday that Amazon HQ2 scouts have been to Austin and Dallas as he accepted an annual award that recognizes the top performing states for business and job creation.
The Dallas Morning News this week had already confirmed that Amazon had been to North Texas and that the e-commerce giant has narrowed its local preference to downtown Dallas.
"Amazon officials have been in the state of Texas talking with my office as well as talking with leaders in Austin and in Dallas as they continue the process going nationwide to figure out which locations would be the best match for them," Abbott said after accepting Site Selection Magazine's 2017 Governor's Cup award.
It was the sixth consecutive year for Texas and the state has won the award 14 times, more than any other state.
Abbott hasn't shown any favoritism between Dallas and Austin when it comes to Amazon HQ2. Both cities are among the 20 that made the cut when Seattle-based Amazon released its finalists in January.
Cities are vying for a second headquarters location that Amazon said will employ as many as 50,000 people over the next decade.
"We believe both Dallas and Austin would be perfect fits for Amazon," Abbott said in response to a question from a KVUE-TV reporter in Austin.
"Amazon executives have told me personally they believe Texas has a premier workforce," he said. "When you couple that with our reasonable regulations, low tax rate, low cost of living and the ease of doing business, you can see that Texas is the right fit for the Amazon expansion."
Explore further: Half of Amazon's HQ2 finalists have overvalued housing markets