Abbott Plug Could Be An Equalizer
for Capital City Cop in Runoff Duel

Capitol Inside
March 30, 2022

Indicted Austin police officer Justin Berry received a substantial boost on Wednesday when Governor Greg Abbott rallied behind his campaign as a slight underdog in a GOP primary runoff bout with former Austin City Council member Ellen Troxclair this spring.

The Troxclair snub represented the only time that Abbott has broken ranks with the business establishment in more than a dozen open House races in districts where he's endorsed candidates this week. But Berry hasn't been running to the right by any stretch - with contributions from Texas Parent PAC, the Texas Classroom Teachers Association PAC and a wide array of law enforcement interests and firefighters from around the state and beyond.

Troxclair garnered 38 percent of the vote on March 1 in House District 19. Berry advanced to the runoff as the runner-up with 35 percent. Troxclair had a major advantage as a product of her experience and money that she'd raised last year in anticipation of a state Senate bid. Troxclair reported contributions of $374,000 to the state for the first six months in 2021.

Troxclair and Berry both raised more than $100,000 in the eight months before the primary vote this year. But Troxclair accepted $10,000 from the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC a week before the first-round election. That's usually a sign of substantial sums to come with nearly eight weeks to go before the runoff. Abbott's endorsement - by the same token - could be gold in terms of fundraising opportunities that it will open for Berry.

Berry came from behind in a runoff for the House in a separate district in 2020 when he beat Jennifer Fleck by 9 points in the second round after trailing her by 9 in the initial vote in a field of five candidates. Berry fell short in the general election, however, when Democratic State Rep. Vikki Goodwin of Austin edged him out in a nail-biter.

Berry seemed to be losing momentum in the comeback bid before he and 18 other officers were charged by a Travis County grand jury in February with the use of excessive force at George Floyd protests in the Capital City in 2020. While the case could put Berry's status at risk if he's the nominee in November in House District 19, it put him in position for a better shot at an endorsement from the governor in the clash with Troxclair.

Abbott has been the state's most high-profile opponent of police defunding in Texas, where that hasn't been a threat beyond an experimental program in Austin where resources were shifted around various criminal justice services without an actual overall cut. Abbott attacked Travis County officials for the indictments and even hinted at the possibility of clemency for the individual officers who were targeted.

“Police officer Justin Berry’s strong conservative values and experience stopping violent crime are exactly what we need in the Texas House," Abbott said in an email. "I am proud to endorse conservative Justin Berry and look forward to working with him to secure our border, cut property taxes, and stop the radical left’s harmful agenda."

Abbott dished out endorsements this week in other open House races to Republicans Ben Bumgarner of Flower Mound, Barron Casteel of New Braunfels, Frederick Frazier of McKinney, Patrick Gurski of Galveston, Caroline Harris of Round Rock and Jamee Jolly of Plano.

more to come ...