Abbott’s COVID actions spur talk of primary foe

As Gov. Greg Abbott races to reopen all businesses and end mask mandates this week, it hasn’t been fast enough to defuse escalating political pressure from fellow Republicans who see Texas lagging behind other states in dropping COVID-19 restrictions.

For months, Abbott has taken barbs from conservatives who have held up Florida Gov. Ron Desantis as a measuring stick to show Texas is reopening too slowly, fueling talk that Abbott will face something he’s never seen: a real primary battle.

“We are glad Governor Abbott is following the example of Governor Ron Desantis of FL & Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota & opening up Texas,” Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West said last week on his social media accounts after Abbott announced that all businesses would be allowed to reopen to 100 percent this week.

That came days after Desantis blew Abbott away in an early 2024 presidential primary test ballot at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. Asked who their top choice would be if former President Donald Trump doesn’t run, 43 percent in the straw poll picked Desantis. Noem finished second

with 11 percent. Abbott was the choice of less than 1 percent, finishing 21st among 22 potential candidates.

And then there was January, when Desantis was in Austin less than a mile from Abbott’s mansion, touting how he kept his state open despite criticism from the media.

“Florida is open,” said Desantis, a guest at the Texas Public Policy Foundation at a time businesses in the region were barred from operating at more than 50 percent. “No restriction and mandates from the state of Florida whatsoever. We trust individuals.”

Desantis lifted Florida’s restrictions in September — a full six months before Abbott made his move in Lubbock last week.

“Greg Abbott certainly is no Ron Desantis,” former state Sen. Don Huffines said aturday while standing in front of the Alamo to mark the 185th anniversary of that battle.

Huffines said that between Abbott’s handling of the mass statewide power outages and his pandemic response, it is long past time for someone to challenge him in a GOP primary.

“There’s a lot of issues that are going to be discussed in a primary, and those are just two of them,” Huffines said just before delivering a speech before almost 300 people in which he decried governments taking away people’s liberties.

Huffines isn’t ready to declare for the race, but he made clear he’s “keeping my options open.”

Democrats decry reopening

Huffines is far from being alone in the GOP ranks in promoting a challenge to Abbott as he seeks his third term as governor.

After Abbott, 63, made his announcement to reopen last week, Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther slammed the governor on Fox News for what she said was a purely political move to lower the heat he’s taking from Republicans.

“I think it’s too little, too late, honestly,” said Luther who was jailed early last year after violating Abbott’s initial executive order that forced all hair salons to close. Though she was charged with contempt of court, Abbott cited her case as he changed his order to prevent the possibility of jail for those who violated his statewide mask order.

Former state Rep. Jonathan Stickland also took to social media to join current members of the Texas Freedom Caucus in criticizing Abbott for reopening too slowly.

“Texans deserve better, you’ve got to go. #Fireabbott #2022Primary,” Stickland wrote.

Democrats say they have no doubt that Abbott is moving the reopen too quickly to stave off those voices on the right.

“There’s no question he’s worried about a primary challenge,” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said.

But in television interviews last week, Abbott brushed off questions that his decision was political. It was driven by data that shows vaccinations climbing and hospitalizations on the decline, he said.

“All the numbers are going in the right direction,” Abbott said during an interview on KPRC 2 in Houston last week.

In his last two campaigns for governor, Abbott has faced only token primary opposition from underfunded challengers. He won each race with more than 90 percent of the Republican vote.

Before that, Abbott won three terms as Texas attorney general but never once had a primary challenge. And even before that, he won two Texas Supreme Court races without any GOP opposition in either race.

While Abbott hasn’t faced a serious primary in his career, “We’re not going to take anything for granted,” said Dave Carney, Abbott’s political strategist.

More popular than Perry

The Republican with likely the best chance of taking on Abbott successfully has already declared he’s not seeking the post.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in January headed off any talk he could seek the governor’s mansion in 2022.

“I remain honored to serve as lieutenant governor and look forward to running for re-election,” Patrick said in January.

But does that mean Abbott is vulnerable in a primary?

Not likely, says Jim Henson, who directs the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas.

He said its polling shows Abbott remains popular with Republican voters, despite the criticism he’s been getting. Abbott’s approval ratings with GOP voters in Texas have been as high as 89 percent, according to Ut/texas Tribune polling. He’s now down to 79 percent, and that is before voters have been surveyed on his handling of the recent winter storm.

“I think, on one hand, I don’t see signs of any Abbott vulnerability here,” Henson said about the polling data up to this point.

Abbott’s polling is well ahead of where former Gov. Rick Perry was as he prepped for his third campaign for governor. In February 2009, Perry had a 62 percent approval rating among Republicans and would face a primary challenge from former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison a year later. Perry carried the primary with 51 percent of the vote in going on to win his third and final term in office.

And then there is fundraising. Abbott has been a prolific fundraiser, with more than $38 million as he heads into his re-election. Veteran Republican strategists say any GOP challenger would have to get started soon to have any hope of raising enough money to make Abbott sweat.

Henson said that while he sees Abbott as a big favorite to win his primary, the governor faces challenges that Perry did not.

“One thing Rick Perry didn’t have to deal with was every dissenting Republican having a platform to amplify their discontent,” Henson said. “The guys with pitchforks have better platforms these days.”

Dissension building

Republican dissension against Abbott has been building within the activist ranks of the GOP for a year. In the summer, at least eight county Republican Executive Committees censured Abbott for his handling of the pandemic.

In October, Abbott’s critics held a “Free Texas” rally outside the governor’s mansion that included pointed jabs from West, Huffines and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

Huffines said he’s no stranger to tough races. In 2014, he defeated an incumbent Republican to win his state Senate seat, which he lost four years later to Democrat Nathan Johnson. He said that whether it’s him or someone else who takes on Abbott, the governor is going to have to answer questions about why he didn’t reopen sooner and why he shut down so much of the state to begin with.

“How the state responded is 100 percent up to Abbott,” said Huffines, 62. “All the authority rests with the governor.”