Governor Greg Abbott sought to put the past behind on Tuesday when he endorsed Sherman Republican Shelley Luther for the Texas House despite her portrayal of him as a tyrant who trampled the individual rights and freedom of Texans with unprecedented restrictions that he imposed for the covid pandemic.
Luther - the GOP nominee in House District 62 - never showed remorse or claimed to be sorry for relentless attacks that she'd aimed at the governor based on a pitch that his campaign posted on her behalf on X.
“Shelley Luther is an unapologetic conservative fighter who will defend the values that make Texas the best place to live, work, and raise a family,” Abbott declared.
Luther is a prohibitive favorite in a fight with Democrat Tiffany Drake in the North Texas district where Abbott scored nearly 80 percent of the vote in 2022 after Donald Trump won 76 percent there in 2020. Luther ousted a former Abbott ally - State Rep. Reggie Smith - in the March 5 primary election.
Abbott endorsed Smith for an initial duel with Luther in HD 62 two years ago after going all out to beat her in a special Texas Senate election in late 2020. But the governor declined to support Smith again this year in an act of revenge for his vote against Abbott's signature school choice plan in 2023. Abbott remained on the sidelines in the rematch between Smith and Luther in a sign of his disdain for both candidates.
Luther is not the only candidate who berated Abbott frequently before winning an endorsement from him this year. The governor refused to take a position in the House District 33 race in the primary before giving Republican Katrina Pierson a plug for a runoff against an anti-school vouchers incumbent who she unseated in overtime with Abbott in her camp.
Both Luther and Pierson have run the risk of compromising their independence on lawmakers by accepting endorsements from a governor who clearly despised them in the past. It remains to be seen what the two women may think they have to gain as newfound Abbott allies who were two of his most strident critics before deciding to cozy up.
But Pierson and Luther presumably know that Abbott's endorsement can't be confused with loyalty in light of his recent history of seeking revenge against GOP lawmakers who had the audacity to defy him on a priority issue like school vouchers. The pair of nominees in question can expect to be perceived as puppets who the governor controls until that point.
Luther and Pierson were in a group of 14 challengers who defeated incumbent House Republicans in the first two rounds of the election in Texas in 2024. Seven candidates who Abbott endorsed before the initial election beat incumbents who he'd targeted while five House Republicans lost seats in round one or two with the governor as their most prominent supporter and leading donor for failed re-election bids.
Pierson appeared to be in position to win easily without Abbott's belated backing for a runoff battle with State Rep. Justin Holland of Rockwall. Pierson doesn't have a Democratic opponent in the general election this year. Luther could have expected to prevail in a blowout in November without Abbott's endorsement and graphic that he included in the pitch for her today on social media.
Luther was clearly the enemy in Abbott's eyes until she allowed him to bury the hatchet with an endorsement that's good for only one election at most. Luther accused the Texas governor of using oppressive bully tactics during the Covid-19 siege with lockdowns, mask mandates and the temporary shuttering of "non-essential" businesses like the beauty salon she operated in Dallas at the time.
Luther was jailed for violating Abbott's orders when she refused to close her business. The governor allowed her to remain behind bars overnight before gutting his own emergency orders immediately in a moment of panic after the Texas Supreme Court ordered her release from the Dallas County jail the following morning.
Luther argued that Texas would be a better place if voters gave Abbott the boot - saying at one point that “any government official that wants to take away liberty needs to go fast.” Luther's accusations of tyranny inspired a Dallas Morning News headline that said she'd opened up a "new front in GOP civil war" in the Lone Star State.
Despite the appearance of pandering to Luther, Abbott did his best to beat her in subsequent races for the Senate and House before taking her under his wing today. But Abbott endorsed Smith at least three times
before sitting out the primary election in HD 62 in 2024.
“Thank you to the people of House District 62 for entrusting Representative Smith with another term in the Texas House,” Abbott said after Smith's re-election in 2020. “I look forward to continuing my partnership with Representative Smith as we ensure that Texas remains the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”
