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Allen West announces he is running against Governor Abbott
Texas GOP Chairman Allen West announced Sunday he is running for governor, challenging fellow Republican Greg Abbott.
AUSTIN, Texas - In a YouTube announcement Sunday, Allen West spoke about Texas legends, trailblazers and even drew a sword to reenact an iconic Alamo moment.
"... that’s why I'm running to be your Governor of the Lone Star State," said West in this video.
The announcement was not exactly a surprise. "Everybody thought he would run for governor, so he proved that to be true," said political analyst Brian Smith from St. Edwards University.
Smith believes the campaign for the former state Republican Party chairman will involve some fence mending. "Now if I'm the GOP of Texas, I will look and say, you know what, maybe this guy was just using us, not to make the party better, but to make himself better, so there might be some animosity there," he said.
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Abbott and Trump push for the border wall to be built in Texas
Governor Abbott and former President Trump's tour of the southern border in Texas felt like a political rally as they railed against the Biden administration's immigration policy.
Monday, West was on the Texas border and posted images of an illegal border crossing. He claimed his trip is not a photo op; like the rally Gov. Greg Abbott had last week with former President Donald Trump who has endorsed Abbott.
"You are going to be there for a long time," said Trump to Abbott Wednesday.
Over the weekend, Abbott posted his own images from the border. The Twitter post was of video that showed temporary fencing along the Rio Grande. It was a way to restate his promise to continue Trump's border wall. For West playing-up the border, a politically hot topic, is an example of playing catch up, according to Smith. It’s been a month since West resigned from the state GOP and dodged questions about what office he would run for.
"Oh I don't know, maybe dog catcher," joked West during his June 4th resignation announcement near Tyler.
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Allen West announces resignation as Texas Republican Party Chairman
In a news release, the Texas GOP says that Lt. Col. (Ret.) West has submitted his "irrevocable resignation" and will remain at the helm of the Texas GOP until July 11.
Smith noted a lot politically has happened in the following 30 days. "In that time we've seen Governor Abbott really pivot right, do a lot of things and grab a lot of issue space that might have been there if he made a quicker decision," said Smith.
Allen West joins former state Senator Don Huffines in challenging Abbott. In a tweet, Huffines welcomed West to the race. He also mentioned the border, stating: "I look forward to Allen joining our efforts to make clear that Texans can do better than Greg Abbott."
The two candidates are competing for a specific part of the Party, noted Smith. "There isn't enough anti-establishment GOP vote out there."
Smith told FOX 7 having a similar message is not the only tough sell for West. "He doesn't really have the state legislative experience, meaning he has never really gone toe to toe with the likes of Dan Patrick," said Smith.
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Texas Dems call border visit a 'publicity stunt' amid 'real issues'
Democrats on Wednesday said Texas leaders should focus on expanding power capacity and coming up with a better emergency plan in the meantime.
Allen West was once a Florida congressman and came to Texas after losing his bid for re-election. He describes himself as a political establishment outsider like Chad Prather, another GOP candidate.
Prather, a comedian and an internet personality, welcomed West a day after posting a challenge to those who vote for incumbents.
"Otherwise stick to what you got, be happy you got what you wanted. Don't complain one more time after election day," stated Prather on his website.
Smith said Prather in using a familiar complaint runs the risk of only reaching a group that fails to show up at the polls on Election Day. "It is an attractive message but there just don’t seem to be enough people within the Republican Party to get rid of one of three established candidates and go with an unknown," said Smith.
When primary votes are counted, Smith thinks the best the three challengers may be able to hope for, is that at least one can force a runoff with Abbott.
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