Just over 50 days remain until the March 1 Republican primary, but the incumbent governor has been absent from the campaign trail. With well-funded opponents traveling the state and launching ad campaigns, GOP activists are wondering why Greg Abbott is ignoring their forums and questions.
Throughout the fall and now heading into the primaryâs final stretch, Gov. Abbott has been absent from every single GOP and conservative candidate forum and refusing to participate in debates.
For example, forums scheduled this month by groups like the True Texas Project and the Republican Party of Brazos County feature the various candidates for governor â with the glaring exception of Mr. Abbott.
âThere’s a general rule of thumb for incumbents during election season: Lay low and keep your mouth shut. That’s why they rarely show at candidate forums,â said True Texas Project leader Julie McCarty. âBut what does that say about how they view their role in a representative government? And what does it tell us about their desire for accountability? To me it says, âI will do what I want, and you need to just shut up and vote for me.â Sadly, low-info voters often submit without a fight. That is changing, but maybe Abbott hasn’t clued in.â
Gov. Abbottâs campaign staff did not respond to questions about his attendance at such forums.
One of Abbottâs primary challengers is the former chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, Lt. Col. Allen West. He said voters should be clear on the message Abbott is sending.
âGovernment exists and is established by the consent of the governed. Public servants are exactly that, servants of the public, the people. Roman Statesman Marcus Tulius Cicero would refer to Governor Abbottâs absence from primary forums as the arrogance of officialdom,â said West. âIt appears that Governor Abbott feels it is beneath him to stand before Republican voters in primary forums. The logical deduction and subsequent decision for Republican primary voters should be itâs beneath them to vote for Governor Abbott.â
Former State Sen. Don Huffines, a Dallas businessman in the GOP race, said the governorâs attitude is âindicative of how he perceives the Texas Republican Party.â
âHe sees all this as beneath him. Heâs never had to be accountable to the Republican Party of Texas, and heâs petrified,â said Huffines. âHeâs going to have to be accountable to the Republicans of Texas, and thatâs difficult if youâre a RINO.â
The governorâs unwillingness to join in the forums was described as âsuspectâ by media personality Chad Prather, another Abbott challenger.
âIn my opinion, itâs quite dishonorable, and it certainly doesnât speak well of his confidence in the job that heâs done,â said Prather. âWhy wonât you show up to defend your office? Millions of Texans are dissatisfied with Greg Abbottâs job performance, and they are taking seriously these primary contenders to his office. Why doesnât Greg Abbott take it seriously? These are the actions of a tyrant who has no fear of Texas citizens, and he certainly doesnât care about their priorities as proven repeatedly. Weakness does not belong at the helm of Texas leadership.â
The influential Grassroots America – We The People organization based in Tyler didnât even opt to invite Abbott to what they bill as a âjob interviewâ on January 21. GAWTPâs leader JoAnn Fleming describes the governor as having âdisqualified himself by his own actionsâ when shutting down the stateâs economy in 2020.
âWe laid that out in June in our anti-endorsement of Abbott,â said Fleming. âWe cannot trust him with our liberty. He was not invited to the forum because of his disqualifying record that continues today. ⌠Grassroots America does not consider Abbott eligible for rehire.â
NOTE: This corrects an earlier version in which we misstated the date for the GAWTP interview. We apologize for the confusion.