West says Trump’s backing of Abbott ‘doesn’t hurt’ his primary challenge against Texas governor

DALLAS – Outgoing Texas GOP chairman and former Congressman Allen West insists that former President Trump’s support for Governor Greg Abbott “does not harm” his 2022 main challenge to the two-year Republican governor.

“It doesn’t matter to me as I prepare to run for governor of Texas,” West Fox News said ahead of his address this weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas.

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Abbott faces major challenges from right-wing west, former Senator Don Huffines and political commentator Chad Prather. Huffines speaks to the crowd of Conservative activists and leaders at the CPAC on Saturday, while West, a controversial and outspoken former Florida Congressman, speaks on Sunday.

The CPAC Dallas booth for Texas GOP gubernatorial candidate and former Senator Dan Huffines in Dallas, Texas on July 9, 2021

The governor, who was invited to speak at the CPAC in Dallas, is not attending because he is in the state capital, Austin, overseeing a special session of the Texas legislature that he has requested to deal with unfinished business that is different from the regular Session left over. An Abbott aide told Fox News that on Saturday the governor would also brief lawmakers and sheriffs of states along the southern Texas border of the state’s ongoing efforts to deal with the US-Mexico border crisis.

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Abbott recently promised to complete construction of the border wall, which began under the administration of former President Trump, amid the surge in migrants crossing the border this year. And he made national headlines a week and a half ago when he and Trump attended an event on an unfinished section of the border wall in Texas.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, right, listens to former President Donald Trump, left, during a visit to an unfinished section of the border wall in Pharr, Texas, Wednesday June 30, 2021. (AP Photo / Eric Gay)

West said the “need to protect this border” was a major reason he chose to run for governor, and his first stop after starting his campaign a week ago was along the southern border.

He also criticized the governor for what he called “pretty much a legislative failure”.

Abbott has made headlines for the past six weeks by signing bills restricting the teaching of critical racial theory in his state and allowing Texas to carry guns without a license. And a top item on his to-do list for state lawmakers during the special legislative session kicked off Thursday is the passage of a GOP-backed bill to tighten voting access rules that was thwarted by a strike by Democratic lawmakers at the end of the regular session .

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Some Texas Republicans say Abbott’s muscular moves are an attempt to protect his right flank after receiving a lot of fire from angry Texas Conservatives last year over his mask mandates and COVID-19 corporate restrictions. And the governor was also punished earlier this year for the state’s handling of a deadly winter storm that triggered a power grid collapse that left millions of Texans freezing in unusually cold temperatures.

West, who is now stepping down as Texas GOP chairman after challenging the governor, took the extremely unusual step last year of loudly criticizing Abbott’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. West told Fox News that “many Texans were not happy with the governor’s COVID restrictions”.

When asked about Trump’s endorsement of Abbott, West replied that this “does not hurt me at all and it does not worry me at all. In fact, there were several grassroots organizations in Texas asking the president to give his endorsement to Governor Abbott. “

FILE – In this file photo dated Nov. 14, 2020, Texas GOP Chairman Allen West, right, speaks to supporters of President Donald Trump during a rally outside Dallas City Hall. West announced on Friday, June 4, 2021 that in less than a year he will be stepping down to challenge top leaders in his own party, including leading a protest outside the mansion of Republican Governor Greg Abbott. (AP Photo / LM Otero file)

“The bottom line is that I’m running to serve God, to serve the country, to serve Texas. It’s not about serving President Trump. I know him personally, but if he felt he wanted to support Greg Abbott, that’s fine, ”West said. “It doesn’t matter to me as I prepare to run for governor of Texas.”

Abbott’s longtime political advisor, David Carney, said campaign policy was not a motivating factor in the governor’s hustle and bustle.

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“We’re not focusing on all that gossip,” Carney recently told Fox News. “We’re 100% sure we know where the Republican primary voters are. We’re not worried about the primary.”

The governor’s re-election campaign announced Thursday that it had raised nearly $ 19 million in the last 10 days of June and now has $ 55 million in cash, a striking number.

West, who was a very successful fundraiser during his tenure in Congress, said raising enough money to stay competitive shouldn’t be a problem.

“A decade ago, I raised $ 19 million as a newcomer to Congress. My name and facial recognition definitely increased,” West said. “They want the money to get the message out there.”

But West, who served in the Gulf War and Iraq War before retiring from the US Army as a lieutenant colonel, added, “I think I can get the message out without a huge war chest because people are getting a message of constitutional conservatism.”

When asked if he thinks the governor is making a mistake by not speaking at the CPAC this weekend, West replied, “You should ask the governor about it. I’m not going to make any judgment as to whether or not he speaks at CPAC. I’m just humble to have the opportunity to get back on stage at CPAC. “

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Austin veteran Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser told Fox News, “I think the only downside to not going to CPAC is that it gives Allen West and Don Huffines the opportunity to launch attacks on Governor Abbot that go unanswered. “

But Steinhauser, a veteran of the Tea Party movement who later campaigned for two of the Lone Star State’s top Republicans – Texas Senator John Cornyn and Rep. Dan Crenshaw – said that “all data so far suggests Abbott does not” right now in serious trouble. “

Citing the governor’s approval ratings among the Republicans in Texas, his support from Trump and his massive campaigning war chest, he said Abbott “is on pretty solid ground right now … We’ll see if any of these guys catch on. Me.” ‘I’m not a betting man, but I don’t think I would bet today that he will lose. “

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