[SanchoP]

I don’t hate him but I sure don’t trust him at all.

[Hostage]

Explain. There are many waiting to hear about this.

[Wallace T.]

Abbott is in political trouble. The COVID lockdown, while not as severe as New York or California, caused serious economic consequences, including business closures and massive unemployment. Combined with the February freeze (partially a Federal failure or rather sabotage), Abbott is unpopular, especially among conservatives. In the CPAC meeting, Abbott was in last place in a poll of potential Presidential candidates. He is facing a conservative challenger in the gubernatorial primary who has strong personal financial resources,

So Abbott is pivoting rightward. There is some risk in that strategy. The Democrats are smelling blood as they have been shut out of any statewide offices in this century. Remember that Senator Cruz was re-elected by a 2 point margin in 2018 and that Trump won Texas by only 6 points, the worst Republican Presidential victory margin since 1980. The slippage was partly due to narrowing margins in suburban counties that are controlled by the GOP, thus likely precluding massive voter fraud as an explanation.

[Wallace T.]

Abbott is in political trouble. The COVID lockdown, while not as severe as New York or California, caused serious economic consequences, including business closures and massive unemployment. Combined with the February freeze (partially a Federal failure or rather sabotage), Abbott is unpopular, especially among conservatives. In the CPAC meeting, Abbott was in last place in a poll of potential Presidential candidates. He is facing a conservative challenger in the gubernatorial primary who has strong personal financial resources,

So Abbott is pivoting rightward. There is some risk in that strategy. The Democrats are smelling blood as they have been shut out of any statewide offices in this century. Remember that Senator Cruz was re-elected by a 2 point margin in 2018 and that Trump won Texas by only 6 points, the worst Republican Presidential victory margin since 1980. The slippage was partly due to narrowing margins in suburban counties that are controlled by the GOP, thus likely precluding massive voter fraud as an explanation.