Greg Abbott Threatens Texas Republican With Cease and Desist Letter

Governor Greg Abbott is threatening a Texas Republican with a cease and desist letter that accuses the state representative of pretending he had the governor's endorsement for his reelection effort.

Abbott's campaign sent the letter to Drew Darby on Friday, demanding that the GOP legislator stop implying to the public that he has the governor's support. Abbott "made no such endorsement, and has actually endorsed your opponent, a true conservative, Stormy Bradley," the letter said.

"It is unfortunate that you would misrepresent Governor Abbott's position on your race on your website, which serves only to confuse voters about who the conservative candidate in the race actually is," Abbott's campaign manager, Kim Snyder, wrote to Darby. "Which begs the question, what other matters have you tried to confuse voters on?"

Newsweek reached out to Darby via phone for comment.

The rift is the latest development in Abbott's ongoing feud with Texas Republicans who refuse to support his school vouchers program. Last year, the governor lost a yearlong fight to pass his school vouchers bill that would have created a program giving parents educational tax dollars to send their children to private or religious schools instead of public ones.

Despite calling legislators back for four special sessions to help him deliver on his reelection campaign promise, Abbott was defeated by a united Democratic coalition and two dozen Republicans who represent rural areas. His battle for the voucher program also was a major factor in a civil war in the Texas GOP, which stemmed from a bitter dispute between House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.

In an effort to get his top legislative priority passed, the governor has begun endorsing a number of pro-voucher candidates to build a House GOP that would be more friendly to his proposal.

That strategy has also involved the targeting of rural Republicans, including Darby, who do not support his bill. Abbott threw his support behind Darby's challenger on December 7, hailing Bradley as "the only conservative in the race for House District 72 that will help me bring school choice across the finish line." Darby and Bradley will face off in the Republican primary on March 5.

Rural GOP holdouts, who had previously been considered Abbott allies, have argued that the vouchers program would take away money from Texas public schools, which are considered a lifeline for many rural communities. Phelan, himself a rural Republican who has steered clear of Abbott's voucher push, had previously described the bill as possibly being "the most difficult piece of legislation in the history of the state of Texas."

A report from The Texas Tribune found that, based on accounts from lawmakers, staffers and lobbyists, "Abbott primarily failed because of his refusal to compromise on a universal program" that offered vouchers to every Texas student instead of a more stripped-down version that would have limited those educational tax dollars to disadvantaged students.

Darby told news service San Angelo LIVE! that all endorsements from Abbott had been removed from his website as of Friday night. But it appears the governor himself has kept his praise of his friend-turned-foe up on his own website.

The news outlet reported Monday that "a simple search of Governor Abbott's campaign website for mentions of Darby revealed that Abbott's website, gregabbott.com, still contains four pages with the Governor's positive remarks about Rep. Darby."