Allen West Launches Bid To Lead NRA

[#TexasPolitics365]

 

Wayne LaPierre will face a new challenger to lead the NRA.

Former Texas Republican Party chairman and candidate for governor Allen West announced Monday he will challenge LaPierre to become executive vice president of the gun rights organization.

West said he would accept the nomination offered up by dissident current and former NRA board members looking to replace LaPierre. He said he is running to “restore the honor, integrity, and character” of the NRA.

LaPierre has faced significant opposition within the group, which in recent years has faced financial struggles, a failed bankruptcy, and a corruption suit brought by the Attorney General of New York.

(Full story HERE.)
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Republicans Choose Among 8 Candidates For Governor

[#TexasPolitics365]

 

Republicans and Democrats throughout the state today are choosing primary candidates for federal and state offices who will face candidates of the opposite party in the general election in November.

Eight candidates are running in the Republican primary election for governor of Texas.

Governor since 2015, Abbott previously served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 to 2015 and as a member of the Texas Supreme Court from 1996 to 2001.  Facing a challenge from his right flank in the Republican primary, Abbott is looking to silence his critics with a strong showing in the primary.

Polls show Abbott with a comfortable lead over his closest competitors, former Rep. Allen West and former state Sen. Don Huffines. (Although West and Huffines have produced what are thought to be unscientific "internal polls" showing them both doing substantially better than scientific polls done by media outlets and Universities.)

West, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, served as Texas Republican Party chairman before stepping down from the post and entering the race. Previously, he served as a congressman in South Florida from 2011 to 2013. West has attacked Abbott for the governor's 2020 mask mandate and closure of churches across Texas during the pandemic, as well as his failure to close the border with Mexico.

Huffines has been relentless in his attacks on Abbott for failing to act fast enough to close the Southern border. Huffines has proposed eliminating property taxes and closing the border to trade, both economically questionable tactics, but proposals well designed to stir up populist voters in the primary. Still, his campaign has struggled to gain traction.

Chad Prather is an American conservative political commentator, comedian and internet personality known for a series of YouTube videos in which he comments on life, right-leaning politics and current events. He is polling in single digits in the governor's race.

Also running in the primary are Paul Belew, Daniel Harrison, Kandy Kaye Horn, and Rick Perry (not the former governor.)

(Full story HERE.)
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Another Poll Shows Abbott Far Ahead Of GOP Challengers, O'Rourke

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Gov. Greg Abbott (R) tops his primary challengers and leads Democrat Beto O'Rourke in the Lone Star State's  2022 gubernatorial race, according to a new poll released Thursday. 

A poll from The Hill/Emerson College Polling found that 61 percent of likely voters in Texas support Abbott's reelection campaign in the Republican primary. 

His closest challenger, Republican Allen West, has registered 12 percent support in the primary, according to the survey. 

Abbott, who has been governor for seven years, is also leading in the poll's general election matchup against Democratic frontrunner O'Rourke.

(Full story HERE
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West Won't Be Charged In Airport Mask Altercation

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen West will not be prosecuted over a face mask-related altercation at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, an official said. 

A Grapevine Municipal Court administrator said Monday that West would not be charged in connection to a confrontation with a man who called him out for being unmasked last year, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Any altercation over not wearing a mask can only help West with Republican voters, who have been hostile to mask mandates and public mask-wearing in general, and especially hostile to those who attempt to shame those who don't choose to wear masks.

(Full story HERE.)
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New Poll: Abbott Leading Republicans, O'Rourke By Wide Margins

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Incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott appears comfortably ahead of Republicans who are challenging him in the March primary election and the well-funded Democrat he is likely to face in November’s general election, a new poll has found.

The survey, conducted by the University of Texas-Tyler for The Dallas Morning News, found Abbott leading a bevy of conservative challengers with 59 percent of the vote. 

None of the others — including ex-Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), former state Sen. Don Huffines (R) and conservative television personality Chad Prather (R) — tops 7 percent of the vote.

(Full story HERE.)
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Gov. Candidate West Attacks Abbott Over Treatment Of Border Troops

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen West has attacked Gov. Greg Abbott's approach to securing the border and his treatment of national guard troops.

In a press conference Wednesday, West said Abbott was exaggerating the number of troops at the border for political reasons. West asserted that 6,600 had been deployed, and said Abbott refers always to "10,000 troops." 

West a former lieutenant colonel in the US Army, drew on his experience to say he would treat the soldiers better, in part, by offering them incentives such as property tax breaks.

"This is a state mission," said West, in a press release posted on his website. "Therefore, the state can determine the compensation package for service on the border such as in-state educational benefits, pay incentives, retirement, tax breaks (suspend property tax assessments), and newly created state level border awards (medals). None of this is being done at a creative level."

(Full story HERE.)
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West Condemns Abbott For Not Stopping National Guard Mandatory Vaccinations

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen West is condemning Gov. Greg Abbott, whom he claims is refusing to act to prevent forced vaccinations of national guardsmen in Texas.  

In a press release, West said that abbott, who is commander of the Texas National Guard, "is allowing vaccine mandates to take effect in June 2022. He is kowtowing to federal overreach and not standing up for liberties of Texans who have stood up to serve the Lone Star State."

West goes on to say that those soldiers who are not vaccinated will have their drill pay withheld, which he characterized as "another sick maneuver to force a vaccine on Texans who have the right to make their own medical decisions."

(Full story here.)
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Gov. Candidate West Would Investigate Parent Arrests By School Police

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Allen West, a Republican candidate for governor, vowed in front of Round Rock parents and community members Wednesday that he would launch an investigation into the Round Rock ISD Police Department if elected governor.

It comes after two men were arrested in connection to a RRISD board meeting.

(Full story here.)
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Abbott Leads O'Rourke By 6 Points, GOP Rivals In Single Digits, In New Poll

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is leading former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D) by 6 points in the Lone Star State's gubernatorial race, according to a poll taken days after O'Rourke officially launched his bid for office in his home state.

The poll, conducted by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler, found that in a head-to-head match-up between the two candidates, 45% of registered voters said they support Abbott, while 39% said they are backing O'Rourke. 

Sixteen percent of respondents said they would vote for a different candidate for governor.

Like previous surveys, this poll shows Gov. Abbott far ahead of his Republican rivals in the GOP Primary race.

He was favored by 65% of those surveyed, with 6% supporting Lt. Colonel Allen West, 6% supporting comedian Chad Prather, and 3% supporting former State Sen. Don Huffines.

The poll, conducted Nov. 9-16, surveyed 1,106 registered voters in Texas. The margin of error is 2.9 percentage points.

(Full story here.)
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UT Poll Shows Abbott Way Ahead Of Republican Rivals And Leading Democrat O'Rourke

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A new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll shows Gov. Greg Abbott far ahead of his Republican rivals in the March 1st primary, and leading his likely Democratic foe for the General Election. 

 
Abbott is at 56%, with Allen West, the former Texas GOP chair and U.S. representative from Florida, in second place at 13%. No other challenger is in double digits (former state senator Don Huffines comes in at 6%) and 16% of primary voters said they have not thought about it enough to have an opinion.

Abbott also leads likely Democratic Contender Beto O'Rourke, who is not yet officially announced his intention to run in 2022.

The survey of registered voters found Abbott with a 9-percentage-point advantage over O’Rourke, 46% to 37%. Seven percent of respondents picked someone else in the hypothetical matchup.

Another hypothetical candidate, Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey, also polled badly in the survey.  Thirty-five percent said they had a favorable opinion of him, and 24% said they had an unfavorable impression.

A full twenty-nine percent said they had neither positive or negative feelings towards the actor, showing that he would have a lot of work to do educating voters if you got into the race.

(Full story here.)
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Abbott Has Commanding Lead Over Foes In New Poll

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Forty-two percent of registered voters surveyed in October by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy support former US Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke for governor in next year's election, just behind Gov. Abbott at 43%, who is seeking re-election.

Twelve percent said they are undecided, 12 months ahead of the 2022 general election. O'Rourke has not yet announced he will run for governor. 

Abbott, with 61 percent support among likely primary voters, held a more comfortable lead over Republican opponents Allen West, Don Huffines and Chad Prather, the poll found.

West, a former Florida congressman and former chair of the Texas Republican Party, was backed by 14 percent of likely GOP primary voters, while Huffines, a former state senator, and Prather, a conservative commentator, were supported by 4 and 3 percent, respectively.

(Full story here.)
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West Takes Abbott To Task For Allowing Vax Mandate In TX Nat'l Guard

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Col. Allen West is taking Gov. Greg Abbott to task for not ending a vaccine mandate among National Guardsmen in Texas.

In a press release Tuesday, West, who will face Abbott in next year's Republican primary, said that Abbott,  who is commander of the Texas National Guard, "is allowing vaccine mandates to take effect this October. He is kowtowing to federal overreach and not standing up for liberties of Texans who have stood up to serve the Lone Star State."

"The Governor cannot blame President Biden for this mandate. As Governor of Texas, he is well within his authority to stop the medical overreach from occurring. Since the Texas National Guard is not currently under neither Title 10 nor 32 orders, it is not under federal authority. The buck, instead, stops at the Governor’s office. Blaming the Biden administration for the mandate and wringing one’s hands is not a policy decision that a principled leader would take.

Lt. Col. West went on to say:

“It is highly disturbing that our Texas National Guard members are being ordered — mandated — to take a COVID shot. Unless on active-duty orders, the Commander-in-Chief of the Texas National Guard is the Governor, not Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin."

(Full story here
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Gov. Abbott's GOP Challengers Remain Longshots

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has $55 million banked for his re-election campaign, a 73% approval rating among Republicans, and an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

And, thanks to restrictive abortion and election reform bills Abbott has signed in recent months, Texas has become an epicenter of the national conservative causes that rally the GOP base.

None of that, though, has stopped a crop of critics — including Allen West, a former Florida congressman with a right-wing following who briefly served as the Texas GOP chairman — from announcing plans to challenge Abbott in next year’s primary.

(Full story here.)
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New Poll Shows Abbott, Paxton Beating Primary Opponents

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A new Dallas Morning News/UT-Tyler poll shows Gov. Greg Abbott and attorney general Ken Paxton polling far higher than their primary rivals for the 2022 race.

Abbott bested rival Allen West 65% to 20% in the poll, and Sen. Don Huffines 70% to 15%. Paxton is shown with 43% support, Land Commissioner George P. Bush with 28% and Judge Eva Guzman with 5% support. 

But in troubling news for the two incumbents, perhaps, 54% said that the state was going in the "wrong direction," while only 44% said it was on "the right track."

Actor Matthew McConaughey, who has hinted at running for governor next year but has not made his intentions known, can take solace in the poll, which shows him beating Abbott 44% to 35% with 14% voting for an unnamed, "someone else."

But the poll shows Abbott defeating likely Democrat rival Beto O'Rourke, 42% to 37%.

(Full story here.)
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Gov. Candidate West's Wife Cleared Of DWI Charge

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Angela West, the wife of Republican Texas gubernatorial candidate Allen West, has been cleared of a DWI charge.

West, 61, had no traces of drugs or alcohol in her system, despite being arrested last month for allegedly driving while intoxicated (DWI) with her 3-month-old grandson in the car, the Dallas County District Attorney's Office said, citing toxicology results. 

George R. Milner, an attorney representing West, said the district attorney's office will not file charges against her after "thoroughly" reviewing all the evidence in the case, according to a statement 

(Full story here.)
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Gov. Candidate Allen West "Livid" After Wife Arrested On Suspicion Of DWI

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The wife of Texas gubernatorial candidate Allen West was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in northwest Dallas Friday night, but West denied that his wife had been drinking.

Angela West, 61, was arraigned in Dallas County on Saturday morning and faces a charge of driving while intoxicated with a child under 15.

West said, in an Instagram video posted Saturday morning, that he was, "highly pissed off" and "livid" that police left his grandson alone with police on the side of the road. Police managed to contact one of his daughters, who picked up the child later.

On Saturday afternoon, West reported on his Facebook page  that his wife had been released from jail.

West said witnesses at the P.F. Chang's in Dallas where his wife had been dining earlier in the evening saw her only drinking lemonade and water. He said she later passed a sobriety test, but police have not yet confirmed that.

(Full story here.)
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GOP Gov. Candidate West Calls For Impeachment of 3 Harris County Judges

[#TexasPolitics365]

 

Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen West is calling on the state's leaders and the state legislature to impeach three Houston area judges that he says have released violent felons back onto the streets.

In a press release, West said, "Judges Morton, Jones, and Cornelio should be brought up on impeachment charges by Speaker Phelan and Governor Abbott. Their release of violent criminals back onto the streets of Houston and streets across Texas is a dereliction of their duty. By releasing dangerous felons back into our community, these three judges are responsible for dozens of needless deaths."

The judges he referred to are Chris Morton, DaSean Jones, and Natalia Cornelio.

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West Not Worried By Trump Endorsement Of Abbott

Outgoing Texas GOP chair and former congressman Allen West insists that former President Trump’s endorsement of Gov. Greg Abbott "doesn’t hurt" his 2022 primary challenge against the two-term Republican governor.

"It has no relevance to me as I prepare to run for governor of Texas," West told Fox News ahead of his speech this weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas.

At the conference, former Pres. Trump reiterated his "complete and total endorsement" of Abbott.

(Full story here.)

GOP Chair West Calls Vice Chair Parks "Delusional and Deranged" And "A Cancer" In Explosive Email Exchange

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On Wednesday, long-simmering tensions between West and the party’s vice chair, Cat Parks, boiled over in public as he called her a “cancer” and “delusional and apparently deranged” amid a dispute over a party committee project. Parks is a cancer survivor.

He unloaded on her in an email early Wednesday morning, charging her with long using her position to advance herself. Parks shot back at West, accusing him of hypocrisy.

"Allen,... if anyone has used their position at the Republican Party of Texas in an attempt to advance themselves,... it has not been me,” Parks concluded, punctuating the sentence with a laughing-face emoji.

West responded to Parks, a cancer survivor:

"You Ma’am are a cancer, do not EVER email me again,” West said, adding that Parks does "nothing but create chaos and confusion."

Email screenshot below: (click to enlarge.)

The email, which was sent to numerous other people by West using the BCC function,  entered the realm of discussion on the internet. He said he was sending it out to others "for wider dissemination." by Wednesday night the dispute was being played out on multiple media news sites and many commented on Twitter and Facebook about the exchange.

Conservative commentator Erik Erikson was critical of West's comments.

"Allen West referring to a cancer survivor as a cancer is what we can expect from him," he tweeted.

Former Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen was also blunt.

"GOP Chair @AllenWest’s verbal assault on VC @CatParksTX is nothing but a tirade of misogyny & disrespect by a man pitifully floundering to be right when he is so blatantly wrong. (And signing it with “God’s Blessings”…I’d say that’s an affront to the Big Guy) @TexasGOP #txlege"

The Maverick County Republican Party's Twitter account praised Parks' work as a vice chair.

"Nobody has done more to help the Republican Party of Texas Grow than Vice Chair @CatParksTX! Vice chair parks goes to other counties to grow the party and invite people into this party. Vice chair Parks was instrumental in helping build our local party. Thank you VC Parks!"

State Republican Party Executive Committee woman Summer Wise wrote of her reaction to West's comments.

"Vice-chair @CatParksTX is a cancer survivor who triumphed in an arduous, and at times, uncertain recovery. What kind of person tells someone grateful to God  for each & every day they are alive, free of cancer - that they are a cancer?"

Austin City council woman Mackenzie Kelly - the council's only elected Republican - was equally blunt.

"As a cancer survivor, @CatParksTX is the ultimate fighter, and has continued to live a life of service and leadership. 

It is clear that @AllenWest has disqualified himself for any elected office by resorting to a life of smears and lies."

(Full story here.)
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Republican Officials Call For Removal of Now-Candidate West As State Party Chair

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Republican officials from 16 counties, including the heads of the Travis and Williamson county parties, pressed Tuesday for the immediate removal of Allen West as chairman of the state GOP.

They argue that under the party's bylaws, West — who announced that he is running for governor on Sunday — cannot serve as party leader while seeking statewide office. West announced his resignation last month but said it would be effective this coming Sunday, when his replacement will be chosen.

(Full story here.)
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