Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, won the Lone Star State’s Republican Primary, according to a projected victory from the Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ.
With almost half of the votes counted by 9 p.m. Eastern, Abbott received at least 69 percent of votes (or 512,773), compared to top challenger former Texas GOP chairman Allen West with 11.3 percent and former Texas state Sen. Donald Huffines with 11.7 percent, the Texas Tribune reported. Abbott succeeded in receiving at least 50 percent of the vote, thus avoiding a subsequent runoff election, per Texas state law.
Abbott, who is running for his third term as governor, mostly focused his ire on Democrat challenger and failed presidential and U.S. Senate nominee Beto O’Rourke. O’Rourke won his Democrat primary, securing roughly 93 percent of the votes by 9 p.m. Eastern, according to Decision Desk HQ. Pre-primary polling showed both Abbott and O’Rourke as holding the most sway with their respective parties. The two will now face off in the November general election.
Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke speaks with members of the press at a campaign rally on November 16, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)
A recent Emerson College/the Hill poll had shown Abbott with a commanding lead over his challengers, with the current governor garnering 61 percent of the vote. West received 12 percent and Donald Huffines received nine percent.
The Hill similarly reported in late February O’Rourke is dominating the field with 68 percent support among primary candidates in the new poll, with no other candidate securing more than five percent. However, the poll showed Abbott leading O’Rourke 52 percent to 45 percent looking down the line at the November general election.
Abbott received high marks from Trump when the former president bestowed his endorsement in the summer of 2021. Trump specifically called him “a fighter and a Great Governor for the incredible people of Texas.”
“No Governor has done more to secure the Border and keep our communities safe than Governor Abbott,” Trump added.
“Greg is a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and has made Texas a Second Amendment Sanctuary State,” the former president declared.
Trump also noted, “Texas has become a job-creating machine, and our partnership helped restore America’s economic power and success.”
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