Texas Governor Greg Abbott's latest move just showed that his red state is "legitimately in play" for Democrats, according to a former Republican staffer Friday.
The revelation began when Jen Rice, a reporter at Democracy Docket, flagged some news suggesting Abbott "is now threatening Houston with a state takeover of its elections." The reporter called the act "an escalation of long-simmering GOP threats to gain control of voting in the fourth largest city in the U.S."
According to Rice, "Abbott was reacting after a complaint by a GOP state lawmaker" who had "alleged voters were unlawfully registered using commercial post office box addresses."
That news stood out to Kurt Bardella, a former staffer for Republican Senator Olympia Snowe and Republican Congressman Darrell Issa.
According to former GOP insider Bardella, there is a very specific reason for Abbott taking that step.
"They know because of the strength of candidates like [James Talarico] that TX is legitimately in play they’re desperate for any advantage," Bardella wrote Friday.
The man Bardella mentioned, Talarico, identifies himself on X as a "Texas State Representative, former middle school teacher, and Presbyterian seminarian running for the U.S. Senate to take power back for working people."
Talarico is currently set to debate rising Dem star Jasmine Crockett as they both seek the same Texas Senate seat.