Abbott’s challenger accuses Texas governor of being Republican in name only

Former state senator Don Huffines (R), who is bidding against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for the party’s gubernatorial nomination, faced the incumbent governor on Sunday, calling him a Republican in name only, commonly referred to as “RINO.”

” We do not have any Donald trumpThe Donald TrumpCalifornia event center abandons its plan to host Gaetz, Greene Murkowski’s “America First” tour: Trump “threatened to do a lot” for those who stand up to him. Alaska GOP endorses Murkowski’s main challenger MORE as governor we have no Ron DeSantisRon DeSantisThe Hill’s Morning Report: Afghanistan’s future now depends on Afghans, says Biden, a Virginia school calling for the reinstatement of a teacher suspended over gender pronoun policy Rubio, Demings earns money as Florida Senate race heats up MORE as governor, we do not have William B. Travis as governor. Unfortunately, we have a career politician who is a political windsock, a RINO, ”Huffines said of Abbott at the Annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), according to Newsweek.

Huffines, who represented a Dallas-based state Senate district for four years until 2019, made a main bid against Abbott in May.

At CPAC, Huffines criticized Abbott for his handling of the increased number of border crossings, asking the crowd “why is the border not secure?” After years of leadership under Abbott.

“Greg Abbott has been governor for six years. He could have secured the border six years or six months ago, ”Abbott said.

Huffins also focused on Abbott’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, attacking him for his decision to impose restrictions on the state’s economy.

“He put 3 million Texans out of work and dependent on the government in one day. He closed our churches on the holiest week of the year, Easter, ”Huffines said.

“Under my administration, Texas will never turn blue,” he continued.

The former state senator also clashed with the incumbent governor in response to problems with the state’s electricity grid during a storm in February, calling the incident “another embarrassment of failing leadership.” .

“Earlier this year, we were less than four minutes from our power grid having a complete meltdown and sending us all into the Stone Age,” Huffines said, according to The Dallas Morning News.

“Texas is the energy capital of the world. It’s another embarrassment of failed leadership… they can’t even keep the lights on, ”he added.

Huffines also noted that Abbott was not in attendance at the conference, telling the audience “Why isn’t he here… he’s not here because he doesn’t want to face you.”

Abbott, however, is not attending the conference because he set 11 agenda items for lawmakers to work on in a special session that began Thursday, according to the Dallas Morning News.