When Mary D. Lowe learned on Facebook that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott would be campaigning in California on Monday Jan. 24, she felt it was a clear slap in the face of Texas patriots.
“Governor Abbott is not with us,” said Lowe, who chairs the Tarrant County chapter of Moms for Liberty in Texas. “He doesn't care about anything but fundraising. It makes me question his allegiance to the conservative movement, if he's going to California to raise money.”
Moms for Liberty is a national grassroots organization made up of concerned mothers who advocate for parental rights.
The Gov. Abbott event is organized by the Lincoln Club of Orange County, Bob Olson, David Horowitz and Dennis Troesch and is promoted on their Facebook page with a video.
Horowitz, a former at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention, is a former leftist, according to media reports, while Troesh is the founder of Robertson’s Ready Mix, a leading concrete producer. Olson, a hotel developer, is the founder and CEO of R.D. Olson Development.
“Why is he going and getting money from California? What will he owe them in return?” Lowe told the Southern California Record. “It's just unbelievable. There's no reason for him to go there when you look at what's in his bank account. He doesn't need money for his campaign.”
According to The Texan, Abbott’s campaign cash-on-hand is filled to the brim with $65 million compared to $4.7 million for challengers Beto O’Rourke (D), $3.6 million for Don Huffines (R), $166,000 for Allen West (R) and $20,000 for Chad Prather (R).
“This should be the downfall of his candidacy,” Lowe said. “Why isn’t he aligning himself with Florida? Had he governed Texas through this pandemic the way Florida has, small businesses would still be in business. We have a lot of people hurting in this state.”
Tickets to the fundraiser range from $5,000 to $25,000 with a signed copy of Abbott’s book ‘Broken but Unbowed' offered as a perk, according to the invitation.
“When I've been testifying over school issues at State Board of Education meetings in Austin, the California families are there and they are saying, ‘Please don't California my Texas,’ please don't bring those politics and those ways of doing business to Texas because they came to Texas to escape that,” Lowe said. “It's very unnerving that he's raising money in California.”
Some 687,000 Californians have moved to Texas over the last decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“California is a liberal state,” Lowe added. “Look at how much money California spends and look at the state of California. Look how many people live on the street. Look at the quality of their education. California is a beautiful state but the politics have crushed any middle class whatsoever. Totally crushed it.”
Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.