Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) officially announced his reelection campaign over the weekend and launched a long list of events to drum up support.
Abbott's campaign also includes advertisements, which you may have already seen on television.
Former State Sen. Don Huffines (R Dallas), former State Republican Chairman Allen West, and radio host Chad Prather are among the Republicans in the primary challenging Abbott.
Huffines has been running advertisements the past few months and he also has billboards up in the state, but while it is a crowded field the former Dallas County Republican Chairman believes Abbott's challengers will not be able to beat the incumbent or force a primary runoff.
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“The governor's approval rating amongst Republicans is still very high, and having that high approval rating amongst Republicans is again going to be extremely difficult for the individuals to one, get their message out, but two they've also got to raise their own name identification. So it’s not just a matter of bashing the governor,” said Rodney Anderson, former Dallas County GOP Chairman.
Abbott has plenty of resources, including $55 million in the bank -- that amount does not include fundraising from the last part of 2021.
The winner of the Republican primary will likely face former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) in the general election in November.
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O'Rourke has several challengers, but he is the most well-known among the Democrats.
O'Rourke's campaign said speaking to Texans one-on-one is the heart of his campaign. He has held 70 events in 30 cities in the first weeks of his campaign and said there is more travel to come.
Former Dallas County Democratic Chairwoman Carol Donovan expects to see that person-to-person interaction.
“He is popular. He is charismatic. He has had his organization for the last couple of years, Powered by the People, that has been doing grassroots, voter registration. He is going to knock on doors and he is going to be there,” said Donovan.
O’Rourke has shown he, too, can raise money, and a lot of it. He raised more than $80 million in his 2018 Senate race trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Voter registration for the March primary closes on Jan. 31. Early voting begins on Feb. 14 and ends on Feb. 25. Details about the primary and checking voter registration status can be found here.
