State Republican Chair Ending Wild Ride
with 2022 Visions and Party Low on Cash
Capitol Inside
June 4, 2021
Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West didn't go down swinging a rifle in front of the Alamo where he could feel Davy Crockett communicating with him at least once from a statue out by the street. The swashbuckling commander of the Grand Old Party in the Lone Star State didn't fire any verbal salvos at his party's top Texas leaders - nothing about tyrannical governors or traitorous state House speakers.
There were no parroting of QAnon slogans - no secession endorsement denials or rants on the obliteration of freedom and liberty with COVID-19 restrictions when the state GOP revealed on Friday that West is stepping down as chair.
West - a former Army officer who served in combat and Congress for one term in Florida - kept his cards to his vest on what his next move might be after less than 11 months in the current job that he'll be leaving when the State Republican Executive Committee finds a replacement.
"Lt. Col. Allen West will take this opportunity to prayerfully reflect on a new chapter in his already distinguished career," the state party organization said in a statement. "We know that wherever he goes next, he will continue to be a bulwark against progressive socialism and a champion for the principles of Texas and our American Republic."
West had been a fundraising phenomenon in two campaigns for the U.S. House including one that he won as a resident in the southern swath of the Sunshine State. But West has appeared to be scaring major donors off with a flair for dramatics, fantasy rambling on socialist invasions and unprecedented attacks on his own party's governor as the party boss. With a balance of $58,247, the Republican Party of Texas had less cash in the bank at the end of December than it had at any point in more than an entire decade.
West has portrayed Abbott as a monarch. He branded Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan as a modern day Benedict Arnold - declaring that he'd betrayed the GOP when he won the powerful leadership post with bipartisan support. The novel approach to the role as state party chair has made West an embarrassment in the eyes of the lion's share of Republican legislators at the state Capitol in Austin. The party's endorsement of priority legislation has been a potential kiss of death with the firebrand ex-congressman at the helm.
West has appeared nonetheless to have his eye on a potential bid to oust Governor Greg Abbott in the GOP primary election in 2022. West would find himself competing for support from hardcore conservatives with at least one challenger in former Texas Senate Republican Don Huffines of Dallas if he follows a groundswell he perceives and takes aim at Abbott.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller would complicate any attempts to unite the hard right behind a singular contender for the position that Abbott is seeking again in a bid for a third term as the state's top leader. Miller and West had been allies throughout the past year as the most prominent critics of the way that Abbott has performed during the coronavirus pandemic as the sole director of the state's response.
While Abbott appears to be more unpopular than ever among GOP lawmakers in Austin and activists across the state, he could expect to be a strong betting favorite to win the nomination again at the outset of a competitive primary as a consequence of multiple advantages. The incumbent entered 2021 with a $38 million war chest that will be dramatically bigger by the end of June when he files his next fundraising report. Abbott has more name identification in Texas than anyone except Democratic President Joe Biden and the Republican who he ousted at the polls last fall.
But Abbott's number one asset this around is Donald Trump. The governor scored an endorsement from the former president this week. That could have put a massive damper in the floating of trial balloons by potential challengers such as West. But it might not be enough to dissuade Miller from a gubernatorial race as a major Trump ally who has a large number of the fallen leader's supporters as friends and followers on social media. |
