ROCKWALL – Governor Greg Abbott today virtually addressed activists at the 2024 Texas State Republican Convention while speaking to a packed crowd of hundreds of supporters at a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Event for Katrina Pierson in Rockwall, where he highlighted Texas’ enduring dedication to fighting for freedom and conservative values. The Governor joined the convention via video feed from the GOTV event, which will be replayed today during the convention.
Introduced by Pierson, Republican candidate for House District 33, Governor Abbott began his speech by reflecting on the history of our great state and the ongoing ideological battle Texas continues to lead against the Biden Administration.
“Next year is the 190th anniversary of the Battle of Gonzales,” said Governor Abbott. “That battle gave birth to the ‘Come And Take It’ flag. Since that day, Texans have been known for their fighting spirit. We continue that tradition today as we fight against the Biden Administration’s radical leftist policies that are destroying our country.”
The Governor then outlined the countless ways Texas has pushed back against radical liberal agendas, including passing legislation to protect the integrity of women’s sports and fighting to secure every parent’s right to choose the best education pathway for their child.
“When Joe Biden ordered that Title IX of the Education Code should include men who identify as women, I said: Texas will not comply,” said Governor Abbott. “I worked with Riley Gaines and the Texas Legislature to sign a law that ensured no men would be allowed in women’s sports. Leftists are also trying to impose their woke ideology in our schools. Some schools have a resource guide to inform students and families about how to change their sex. Another school had a male teacher dressed as a woman. If you are a parent or grandparent of a child in those schools, do you think you should be able to move your child to another school? Of course you should. That’s why I’m fighting for the right of every parent to choose the school that’s best for their child.”
The Governor also highlighted his recent work on the campaign trail to help elect Republican candidates who support conservative policies like school choice to the Texas Legislature, including incumbent candidates who previously voted in support of school choice and challengers like Pierson.
“When Republican primary voters overwhelmingly supported school choice, only to have their state representative reject that choice, I fought them,” said Governor Abbott. “I’ve campaigned to elect Republican state representatives who will vote for school choice, secure the border, and cut your property taxes; and we have been winning. We are going to win again on May 28th when we elect people like Katrina Pierson.”
Governor Abbott went on to address the recent violent pro-Palestine protests occurring at colleges and universities across the country, declaring that Texas is a law and order state that will not tolerate paid agitators taking over institutions of higher education.
“Unlike Columbia University, UCLA, and far too many colleges across America, in Texas, we don’t tolerate paid protestors who try to hijack our college campuses,” said Governor Abbott. “When they tried pulling that stunt in Texas, we said: come and take it. DPS cleared the area, arrested the protestors, and put them in jail.”
Governor Abbott also addressed the record levels of illegal immigration the country has seen under President Joe Biden’s leadership, calling out the President for destroying President Trump’s successful border security policies and creating a prolific immigration crisis. While the Biden Administration refuses to act, Texas has taken historic action to secure the border through Operation Lone Star, deploying thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers, installing strategic barriers such as razor wire, building our own border wall, and transporting migrants to sanctuary cities.
“Texas has done more than any state ever to secure the border,” said Governor Abbott. “When Biden used a 50-acre park in Eagle Pass as the epicenter of this crisis, there were over 5,000 illegal border crossings a day. Since I ordered the Texas National Guard to take over the park, there are now less than three illegal crossings per day, and those that cross are arrested by DPS. Until Joe Biden does his job and enforces our immigration laws, I will continue transporting migrants to sanctuary cities across the country. This border crisis will come to an end when we fire Joe Biden as President of the United States and rehire Donald Trump as our President.”
The Governor closed out his speech by calling upon Texans to elect strong, Republican leaders who will fight for their conservative values in Washington, D.C. and Austin with the same zeal as those who first displayed the “Come And Take It” flag.
“Together, we must elect conservative fighters from the White House to the Texas State House,” said Governor Abbott. “People like Katrina Pierson, people who will fight for you with the ‘Come And Take It’ passion that is part of the Texas bloodstream. Together, we will keep Texas the greatest state, in the greatest country, in the history of the world.”