Abbott Reacts to Burrows Ad
with Pitch in House Fight for Foe
He Declines to Mention by Name
Governor Greg Abbott came off the sidelines in a roller-coaster competition for Texas House speaker on Wednesday afternoon when he pitched his support to the GOP caucus nominee whose name he declined to mention in a social media post.
After months on the sidelines in the speaker fight, Abbott entered the fray in an angry reaction to a new ad that's packaged in a way that makes it look like he'd endorsed State Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock for the leadership post.
The governor responded to the Burrows advertisement initially with a post on X that denied that he'd approved or even been aware of it. But Abbott said nothing about State Rep. David Cook of Mansfield as the Republican who scored the party caucus nomination for speaker in a meeting in Austin on Saturday with Burrows as the lone rival.
Abbott went a dramatic step further hours later on the social media site when he abandoned the position of neutrality that had appeared to be unwavering and made a pitch for Cook without identifying the lawmaker by name.
"Let me be clear: I worked this entire year to elect conservative candidates who will pass conservative laws, including school choice," Abbott said. "To achieve that goal we need a Texas House Speaker chosen by a majority of Republicans in accordance with the Republican Caucus Rules."
Abbott didn't mention the fact that the Burrows ad was produced as a graphic for the Internet by a new political action committee that the son of the governor's top campaign consultant helped set up last month.
Abbott didn't attempt to explain why he'd been silent on the battle for speaker until four days after the caucus vote at the Capitol where Cook edged Burrows by six votes out of 88 that were cast. Cook had 47 votes on a second ballot - two more than the number needed for a caucus majority.
Abbott's endorsement could be a double-edge blade for the Cook campaign for speaker. Abbott's belated interest in the race could spur some Burrows supporters to flip to Cook out of fear of retaliation from the state's top leader. But Cook's newfound support from the governor could backfire if it helps Burrows with some of two dozen Democrats who've been holding out on him.
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With nothing to gain or lose from a personal perspective, Governor Greg Abbott had been doing his dead-best to make it appear like he was staying out of an ongoing Texas House speaker's race that's poured kerosene into a monumental civil war among Republicans in the Lone Star State.
But Abbott's appearance of neutrality appeared to be blown on Wednesday after a new advertisement surfaced on Lubbock State Rep. Dustin Burrows' behalf on social media with an apparent plug from the Republican governor himself in a quest for the House leadership post.
Abbott moved swiftly in a frantic bid to disassociate himself with the ad that was packaged like an endorsement for Burrows. "To be clear, that text with my picture was issued without my authorization or even knowing about it," Abbott contended today in a post on X. "My focus is singular: work with both House & Senate leaders to pass the conservative agenda that I campaigned on & that voters expect."
The governor's attempt to any deny involvement in the Burrows ad backfired in epic fashion - however - amid revelations that his top political advisor's son had appointed the campaign treasurer for a political action committee that purchased the ad for the legislator who entered the competition for speaker late last week.
The group called the American Opportunity PAC was conceived midway through November when GOP consultant Mitch Carney named Austin attorney Shannon O'Leary as the campaign treasurer. The PAC that takes credit for the Burrows ad with Abbott filed its first campaign finance report on Tuesday with no money raised or spent since its inception nearly a month ago. The American Opportunity PAC was registered with the Texas Ethics Commission.
Carney's father is veteran strategist Dave Carney - the lead campaign consultant for Abbott after serving in the same capacity for Republican Rick Perry when he was the governor here. So while Abbott may have been telling the truth about his individual unawareness of the Burrows pitch, the blanket denial will be a tough sell with Republicans who are backing State Rep. David Cook of Mansfield for speaker and suspect now that the governor's team is taking sides behind the scenes in the House fight.
The ad that piqued Abbott's wrath is based on a graphic that shows Abbott speaking with Burrows standing to his left and a burnt orange drawing of their home state as the backdrop. The two are sandwiched in the picture between the words SUPPORT and BURROWS above a line that describes the West Texas legislator as a conservative Republican candidate for speaker.
A disclaimer at the bottom of the graphic identifies it as a political advertisement that the American Opportunity PAC has funded. The American Opportunity PAC's sole statement to the TEC has an X in the box by the line "10th day after campaign treasurer termination" in the column for report type.
Burrows claims to have sufficient support to take outgoing Speaker Dade Phelan's place in the dais when the House elects a new speaker in January. But Burrows has lost some support in the past few days from Republicans who flipped to Cook's camp after he secured the GOP Caucus endorsement on Saturday.
Cook, a lawmaker in his second term, pushed a running pledge count to 57 on Tuesday with the addition of a third Houston-area Republican colleague who'd been backing Burrows during and immediately after the caucus nomination votes. After claiming to have 76 pledges of support from an even number of Republicans and Democrats, Burrows only had 68 current and incoming House members in his corner by Wednesday based on names that have been made public and those who have switched allegiances since Cook scored the caucus nod. Cook led Burrows by six votes out of 88 that were cast in the caucus endorsement sweepstakes.
Burrows could have the advantage on paper despite some defections nonetheless based on his ability to win a substantial number of Democratic votes in a fight with a foe who can't expect any support from Democrats who he's vowed to purge from House committee chairs if elected as the speaker next month. But two dozen House Democrats or more had yet to commit to any specific candidates for speaker by this afternoon.
An endorsement from the governor that Abbott didn't deny could be a double-edge sword that hurts Burrows with Democrats and gives him a major boost with fellow Republicans. But Cook supporters like State Rep. Steve Toth of Conroe sought to play up Abbott's denial before its backfired.
"This is Not True," Toth said in an X post. "Gov @GregAbbott_TX has not endorsed Dustin Burrows. This is just more deception from Team Burrows."
more to come ...
