The AP projects that Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas won the Republican nomination on Tuesday as he runs for reelection this year in the nation’s second-most populous and largest state.
The governor’s primary victory sets him up for a November general election matchup against Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke. The former congressman from El Paso – who came close to ousting Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate election before unsuccessfully running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination — faced nominal opposition in the Democratic primary and the AP projected O’Rourke’s victory minutes after the final polls closed in Texas.
The conservative governor, who’s seeking a third four-year term steering Texas, was facing multiple primary challenges from the right, including former state Sen. Don Huffine, former Texas GOP chair and former Rep. Allen West of Florida, and conservative commentator Chad Prather.