HOUSTON — Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday vowed to eviscerate Democrats in November’s midterm elections during a speech at the Texas GOP convention that previewed his next legislative priorities and his message for the fall campaign: tying the opposition to “Bernie Sanders socialism.”
Speaking to thousands of delegates at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, Abbott suggested the party will close its primaries to only Republicans, a priority of GOP activists that would require primary voters to register with the party. The governor also renewed his call to ban local governments from sending lobbyists to Austin — known among critics as taxpayer-funded lobbying — and encouraged the Legislature to adopt his plans for regulating data centers, slashing property taxes and taking a hard line on immigration.
