Departing State GOP Chairman Going West
in Quest for Cash for Possible Abbott Clash
Capitol Inside
June 5, 2021
State GOP Chairman Allen West plans to pass the hat in the Texas Hill Country next month after a pair of rallies there in separate towns on the same day that could be a launching pad for a race for the job that Republican Governor Greg Abbott is seeking again in 2022.
West may not still be the official Republican Party of Texas leader by the time he stages a fundraiser in Kerrville on July 19 when he has events planned in Fredericksburg and Ingram as well. West tendered his "irrevocable resignation" to the state party organization on Friday for reasons on which he didn't articulate.
But West indicated that he'd stay on the job until the State Republican Executive Committee selects a replacement in a vote on a new chair at its next scheduled meeting if not sooner. But the state party is billing West in the meantime as the special guest at a "backyard barbeque fundraiser" that supporters in Navarro County are hosting to raise cash for the Texas GOP on July 3.
The state GOP has christened the event on the eve of Independence Day with the formal title Freedom Isn't Free. The West4Texas festivities that have been scheduled to take place later in July will peak with a fundraising dinner in Kerrville at the YO Resort Ranch Hotel.
West won't have to share the cash that he rounds up there with the state party even though he's still using the title of RPT chairman in advertising for the personal campaign events. The promotional materials for the July rallies and fundraiser give a glimpse of West's potential slogan for a potential race for governor or another statewide office or return trip to Congress where he served one term as a representative from Florida 10 years ago.
A combat veteran who served in the Army for 22 years, West bills himself in the fundraising invite as "A true American Hero" and a "Steadfast and Loyal" leader" in Texas.
West has fueled speculation for months on a gubernatorial quest that would begin with a primary election clash with the incumbent who'll be on the ballot for a third term in March. West has artfully used the partisan leadership post as a staging ground for attacks on Abbott, who he's portrayed as ruthless tyrant as a result of COVID-19 restrictions that he issued last year.
A dramatic Abbott lunge to the right in recent weeks is being perceived in some circles as a sign of concern on a possible threat from the far right edge that West represents as a tea party original. But the governor also has appeared to be doing everything in his power to make a splash to generate interest in a potential White House bid in 2024.
West could be warming up for a congressional comeback attempt in his newly-adopted state after losing his first re-election race for the U.S. House in 2012 in a coastal district in south Florida north of Miami Beach. The outgoing Texas GOP chief could consider the lowering of his sights to Lieutenant Governor in light of a feud that erupted between the two during the fight on a so-called constitutional carry gun law that the Legislature approved last month.
But has a reputation for thinking big - and it's conceivable that he might see a fight for elected post on the ballot below the governor's race as a waste of potential and momentum that he has after making it appear that he'd pressured Patrick into removing a hurdle for the gun legislation after calling the Senate president out on it. |
