Texas GOP chair Allen West, who recently announced he was stepping down from the post, said Sunday he’s running for governor, challenging fellow Republican Greg Abbott.
The announcement was made during an appearance by West at Sojourn Church in Carrollton, Texas, where the former Florida congressman played a video launching his campaign, the Texas Tribune reported.
“I’ve not been in elected political office for about a decade, but I can no longer sit on the sidelines and see what has happened in these United States of America and ... the place that I call home," West said in the video, which was preceded by West reading aloud the Declaration of Independence to the churchgoers gathering on July fourth, the Texas Tribune reported.
The launch comes a month after he announced his resignation as state party chairman. The resignation is effective July 11.
West had hinted he was considering a run for statewide office after he announced his resignation, the Texas Tribune reported.
On Sunday, however, West didn’t directly mention Abbott in his remarks in the church or in the video.
Politico reported that in October 2020 West participated in a "Free Texas" protest at the governor's mansion over COVID-19 restrictions.
"We call upon the governor to do what is right by the people of the great state of Texas so that Texas can continue to be a leader," West said at the time, according to Politico.
He’s also a vocal ally of former President Donald Trump ally, though he’s brushed off the impact of Trump's endorsement on his future political plans, the Texas Tribune noted.
"You know, I don't serve President Trump," West said in June. "I serve God, county and Texas. So that does not affect me whatsoever."
West represented Florida in Congress from 2011-2013. He moved to Texas in 2014 to become the CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a Dallas think tank that shuttered three years later, the Texas Tribune reported.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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