WASHINGTON — Citing a decades-long personal and professional alliance, Sen. Ted Cruz threw his support behind Gov. Greg Abbott during a Wednesday town hall — a move that alienated some Texas conservatives who oppose the governor’s reelection.
Cruz’s endorsement came at a Grapevine event hosted by tea party conservatives branding themselves as “True Texans.” The True Texas Project is fighting to keep politicians — especially establishment Republicans — accountable for championing hard-line conservative policies.
But to them, Abbott has failed miserably.
And the endorsement has angered some conservatives affiliated with the True Texas Project, which used to be the Northeast Tarrant County Tea Party before rebranding a few years ago.
“It almost seemed like Ted was embarrassed ... as he should be,” said Julie McCarty, founder of the True Texas Project, in an email. “Ted knows everyone in that room saw his apologetic support as selling out principles for political gain ... Ted showed a weakness on this matter, and I’m confident he’s feeling the repercussions today.”
Yet Cruz’s words are a reflection of Abbott’s enduring success among the mainstream Republican party, said Mark Jones, a political scientist with the Baker Institute at Rice University.
“What Greg Abbott has very skillfully done is been able to keep all the most popular Republican political figures in his camp,” Jones said, pointing to both Cruz and former President Donald Trump, whom Abbott has cozied up with in the past few months.
Anti-Abbott conservatives, on the other hand, “don’t have much in the way of support, either from donors or elected politicians. It’s a small group that, while it has a very energetic and committed core, has been unable to move beyond that in weakening Greg Abbott,” Jones said.
Jones estimates that, barring an unforeseen upset like another grid failure, Abbott will coast through the primary election in March 2022 with relative ease.
Abbott’s primary challengers, meanwhile, responded to Cruz’s endorsement without much apparent concern.
His potential biggest threat is Don Huffines, a former state senator from Dallas who is championed by the TTP. Huffines has raised $7.6 million in campaign funds, compared with Abbott’s $55 million war chest.
“Friendships are important, but I have plenty of personal friends I would never vote for,” Huffines said in a statement shared by a spokesperson. “I have faith Texas voters will look past the rhetoric and vote based off record. It’s time for courageous leadership, no excuses.”
Allen West, another high-profile candidate, is a former Florida congressman who had a brief stint as leader of the state’s GOP party before abruptly announcing his candidacy for governor at this year’s CPAC.
West’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
At Wednesday’s town hall, Cruz did not seem to expect the question of who he would be voting for in the state’s gubernatorial race, but the crowd made their preference clear.
“We favor anyone but Abbott,” said Fran Rhodes, president of the True Texas Project, to loud cheers.
But — to the audience’s disappointment, as evidenced by a smattering of boos — Cruz skirted outright criticism of Abbott, instead reminiscing about the first time the two met.
As attorney general, a title he held for nearly 15 years before running for governor, Abbott appointed Cruz to the post of solicitor general in 2002.
“He gambled on me,” Cruz said, calling Abbott a close friend and telling a story about the governor and wife Cecilia gifting Cruz’s daughter Caroline a pink teddy bear when she was born.
“I understand there are a lot of folks who have concerns about a lot of what Greg Abbott’s done … but as for me, I’m going to vote for Greg Abbott,” Cruz said, adding that he’d be a “disloyal jackass” if he didn’t vote for the governor based on their long personal and professional history.
A spokesperson from Cruz’s office confirmed that his comments constituted an official endorsement of Abbott.
A day later, Abbott expressed his thanks.
“Proud to have my friend @TedCruz behind me,” Abbott tweeted Thursday, along with a photo of the two. “We’ve fought for conservative principles for two decades, and we’ll continue working side by side to keep Texas the BEST state in the country.”
Many of the voters who are fiercely anti-Abbott will likely not be swayed by Cruz’s endorsement, Jones said.
But it sends a message anyway: “What [Cruz] is saying to these voters is ‘Give it a rest on Abbott. He hasn’t been perfect but he’s been a much more conservative governor than anyone we’ve had before in recent years. Don’t be a purist,’” Jones said.
