West says Trump’s backing of Abbott ‘doesn’t hurt’ his primary challenge against Texas governor

Outgoing Texas GOP chair Allen West insists that former President Trump’s endorsement of Gov. Greg Abbott “doesn’t hurt” his 2022 primary challenge against the two-term Republican governor.

Abbott is facing primary challenges from the right from West, former state Sen. Don Huffines, and political commentator Chad Prather. Huffines addresses the crowd of conservative activists and leaders at CPAC on Saturday, with West, a controversial and outspoken former one-term congressman from Florida, speaking Sunday. The governor, who was invited to speak at CPAC in Dallas, is not attending as he’s staying in the state capital city of Austin, overseeing a special session of the Texas legislature which he requested to complete unfinished business left over from the regular session. An Abbott adviser told Fox News that the governor on Saturday would also be briefing state lawmakers and sheriffs from counties along the southern border with Texas about the state’s ongoing efforts to deal with the crisis at the U.S.-Mexican border.