With Rick Perry out of the race, Texans’ only hope for getting one of their own on the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential ticket is U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, right?

(Article by Sean Collins, republished from //www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/trump-abbott-2016/nqCyB/)

Wrong — or so says one political strategist in New Hampshire, home to the nation’s first presidential primary (caucuses don’t count).

In an opinion article for the Washington publication The Hill, Republican operative Paul Nagy says that if Donald Trump wins the GOP nomination, he should pick Gov. Greg Abbott as his running mate.

“Abbott would immediately shore up Trump’s right flank and shut down the criticism that he is really a Democrat,” wrote Nagy, who was the northeast campaign director for Pat Buchanan’s 1992 presidential run. “He is the one governor of national stature who has diligently been grinding it out on all of those issues important to conservatives – immigration, taxes, gun rights, life and family, and rolling back an ever aggressive federal government.”

That Abbott’s name is surfacing in national conservative circles should come as no surprise. In his first year in office, the governor has made a string of high-profile policy proposals and appearances that appear aimed at national audiences as much as Texans.

He’s taken the lead among Republican governors in battling President Barack Obama on his immigration executive action and Syrian refugees.

Earlier this month, Abbott called for a convention of the states to amend the U.S. Constitution. Weeks later, he traveled to Israel and Switzerland, his third international trip since taking office a year ago. After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Abbott ordered the state’s retirement funds tomaintain their bans on investing in Iran, the Jewish state’s regional nemesis.

It’s unlikely that Abbott’s actions will result in changes to the Constitution or to the Iranian economy. But they are exactly what national conservatives want to hear, and they’re getting Abbott some attention.

Read more at: //www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/trump-abbott-2016/nqCyB/

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