The Legislature passed a bill allowing Texans to carry handguns without a license or training an expansion of gun rights so divisive Republican leaders in previous years refused to touch it.
Watch What’s Happening in Red States Ronald Brownstein
It’s not just voting rights.
Though this year’s proliferation of bills restricting ballot access in red states has commanded national attention, it represents just one stream in a torrent of conservative legislation poised to remake the country. GOP-controlled states including Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Iowa, and Montana have advanced their most conservative agenda in years, and one that reflects Donald Trump’s present stamp on the Republican Party.
Across these states and others, Republican legislators and governors have operated as if they were programming a prime-time lineup at Fox News. They have focused far less on the small-government, limited-spending, and anti-tax policies that once defined the GOP than on an array of hot-button social issues, such as abortion, guns, and limits on public protest, that reflect the cultural and racial priorities of Trump’s base.
(Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)
Former President Trump weighed in on the Texas gubernatorial race Tuesday. Trump endorsed Governor Greg Abbott for re-election. Trump and Abbott forged a good working relationship during the Trump administration so this announcement is not particularly surprising.
Trump’s statement touts Abbott’s work in securing the border and his defense of the Second Amendment. Both of those subjects are top priorities in Texas Republican primaries.
Greg Abbott is a fighter and a Great Governor for the incredible people of Texas. No Governor has done more to secure the Border and keep our communities safe than Governor Abbott. Greg is a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and has made Texas a Second Amendment Sanctuary State. Texas has become a job-creating machine, and our partnership helped restore America’s economic power and success. Greg is also very tough on crime, fully supports the brave men and women of Law Enforcement, a