Gov. Abbott endorses Rep. Cole Hefner at East Texas reelection campaign event

MOUNT PLEASANT, Texas (KETK) – Gov. Greg Abbott visited East Texas Tuesday evening to endorse State Representative Cole Hefner in his reelection campaign for House District 5.

Hefner is running against Dewey Collier and Jeff Fletcher.

“He’s going to vote for the values of East Texas,” Abbott said.

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The room was packed at this campaign event for Hefner. For many who showed up, their focus was on Abbott.

Abbott mentioned several reasons why he’s endorsing Hefner, including his help to collect resources to aid in the crisis at the border.

“As we are together in East Texas tonight, those orange buoys remain in the Rio Grande right this minute,” Abbott said.

He also credited Hefner for the relief some Texans noticed on their property taxes. A major focus for Hefner’s campaign speech was his work to end abortion.

“In 2019, there was 56,000 abortions. In 2023, there were less than 40 performed in the state of Texas,” Hefner said.

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Abbott said without their strong state representatives, they wouldn’t be able to fight back against the Biden Administration to secure the border.

“Texas has the right to self-defense, and we will use that self-defense,” Abbott said.

He also voiced his belief that this fight won’t stop in Texas.

“Until Joe Biden does his job and enforce the laws of the United States of America, I will continue to bust those migrants to New York City, to Chicago, to Los Angeles, to Denver, to all of the sanctuary cities in the United States,” Abbott said.

He will be in Nacogdoches next week to support another State Representative candidate.

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