Anti-Trump Republicans blast Texas Gov. Abbott over 'sham' election audit

A group of GOP strategists opposed to former President Donald Trump is launching a billboard campaign across Texas that attacks Gov. Greg Abbott’s push to audit the results of the 2020 election. The group, called the Republican Accountability Project, said it had 12 ads up in major Texas cities, with the message: “Gov. Abbott, end the sham audit.” Abbott, a Republican seeking re-election, launched the review last fall under pressure from Trump, even though Trump won the state by nearly six percentage points. Like similar reviews in other GOP-led states, it has turned up minimal discrepancies between electronic and hand counts of ballots in sample precincts.

“These audits are not about investigating alleged voter fraud,” the group, led by GOP strategist Bill Kristol, said in a statement. “They’re about keeping the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump alive. They erode public trust in our democracy, and they need to stop.” Abbott and other Republican leaders have justified the audit by pointing to skepticism among conservative voters over the election results, much of which has been stoked by discredited claims by Trump and his supporters. “The people of Texas must have trust and confidence in the election process,” Abbott said when launching the review last fall. Abbott requested and received $4 million in emergency funding from Republican leaders of the Texas Legislature for the audit.