Governor Greg Abbott Calls Shots on Virus Response as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrich and Speaker Dennis Bonnen Watch - AP Photo

 

GOP Whodunnit Centers on State Senator's False
Inclusion in Group Attacking Abbott on Early Vote

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor
September 23, 2020

Colonel Mustard and Mrs. Peacock can be ruled out as suspects in the new Texas Republican version of the board game Clue that spins on the question of who put State Senator Donna Campbell's name on a lawsuit that's designed to suppress the vote here this fall while embarrassing Governor Greg Abbott.

An eight-year Senate veteran who's a physician in New Braunfels, Campbell and two of her GOP colleagues in the upper chamber were listed as co-plaintiffs on Wednesday in a case that's challenging Abbott's authority to extend the early voting period by six days in October.

But Campbell contended late this afternoon that she'd never had any connection whatsoever with the lawsuit that was expanded today at the Texas Supreme Court with seven incumbent Republican state lawmakers included in the cadre of plantiffs that Houston activist Steve Hotze has been leading.

Campbell said that she disagreed with the lawsuit's central objective that seeks to have the high court reduce the length of the early voting period in Texas back to its original setting of two weeks before the November 3 general election.

The senator from the Hill Country sought to distance herself from the legal challenge as quickly as possible with a letter that she fired off to Jared Woodfill - a former Harris County GOP chair who's representing Hotze and the other plaintiffs in the case.

A majority of the newly-minted plaintiffs in a group that includes Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West and state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller have been associated with the exteme right in a GOP that's never been more bitterly divided here than it is now.

The addition of GOP State Senator Charles Perry of Lubbock and Campbell to the plaintiffs roster had eyebrows inside the Austin beltway raising amid speculation of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's meddling behind the scenes in an attempt to undermine Abbott.

Patrick, who'd wielded massive clout at the statehouse for five years going into 2020, has had no role during the pandemic beyond periodic commentary in interviews on Fox News.

Perry has been critical of Abbott for failing to call a special session to give the Legislature veto power over the governor's emergency orders. The summoning of lawmakers back to Austin for an election-year special session would have been an invitation for them to dilute Abbott's power as the lone commander of the state response throughout the past six months.

The suit that falsely included Campbell as a party was submitted initially in August after Abbott issued an executive decree in late July that moved the first day of early voting from October 19 to October 13. Republicans have traditionally fared better when the turnout for ekections have been low.

But Campbell's denial of involvement raises the question of who would have put her name in a group that's attacking their own Republican governor less than six weeks before the 2020 election.

Campbell had cause for anger when her name appeared in daily newspapers and other publications across the state on Wednesday in the suit pushers group that also features several major tea party leaders in JoAnn Fleming and Julie McCarty and Harris County GOP Chair Keith Nielson.

Patrick had called for Nielson's resignation before he was sworn into the partisan leadership post amid revelations that he'd made racist posts on social media.

Texas Major Counties
Covid Act Now Testing Positivity Rate
New Cases Per 100,000 September 23
  Texas 11.3% 23.4
1 Guadalupe 60.4% 160.0
2 Gregg 11.8% 64.2
3 Harris 5.5% 55.0
4 Lubbock 7.6% 34.3
5 Webb 13.9% 32.8
6 Potter 19.2% 31.1
7 Brazos 14.4% 25.4
8 Bexar 13.0% 25.0
9 Grayson 2.9% 23.0
10 McLennan 16.9% 22.0
11 Randall 14.4% 21.5
12 Hidalgo NA 21.0
13 Smith 5.9% 19.3
14 Brazoria 7.1% 19.2
15 El Paso 6.0% 16.9
16 Nueces 4.6% 16.8
17 Tarrant 5.8% 16.1
18 Taylor 5.6% 15.8
19 Johnson 8.2% 15.6
20 Ector 7.3% 14.9
21 Dallas NA 14.8
22 Tom Green 4.3% 14.3
23 Jefferson 8.6% 14.0
24 Ellis 5.0% 13.3
25 Montgomery 6.8% 12.4
26 Wichita 18.5% 11.5
27 Comal 6.4% 11.2
28 Cameron 7.5% 10.9
29 Kaufman 5.6% 10.5
30 Parker 6.2% 10.1
31 Rockwall 5.3% 9.7
32 Midland 9.4% 9.6
33 Collin 4.4% 9.5
34 Bell 12.7% 8.4
35 Hays 5.3% 8.3
36 Denton 4.5% 7.7
37 Travis 6.2% 7.6
38 Fort Bend 3.4% 7.2
39 Galveston 3.2% 6.7
40 Williamson 4.2% 5.4

 

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