It's been a tough month for Governor Greg Abbott.
The run-away Texas Democrats continue to hold up the second special session of the state legislature, defiant judges and school boards across the state continue to snub their noses at his ban on mask mandates, and to top things off, he even tested positive for Covid this week while fully vaccinated.
Add to that, the on-going crisis at the border (which is not his fault at all) and some are beginning to wonder, especially in Republican circles, could Abbott be in trouble in his bid for re-election?
"I would say, I don't think he's in trouble today" said political analyst Charles Blain of Urban Reform, "But I think he needs to be cautious about what could happen over the next year."
To be clear, Abbott is still in a strong position, sitting on solid numbers and a campaign war chest with more than $50 million. But he will face at least 2 competitors in the Republican primary, in former state senator Don Huffines, and the former chairman of the Texas GOP Lt. Colonel Allen West.
"I always say that everyone up for re-election should be concerned" Blain told KTRH, "They don't own anyone's vote. He has a lot of questions that he needs to answer from primary voters, and primary voters should be asking a lot of questions and holding him accountable."
As Blain notes, there is a lot of time before we get to next years primary, and the eyes of Texas will be watching. "We don't know if we might have another electrical outage because of the summer heat? Or does the border crisis get worse? What happens with the special session? What happens with Covid?" Blain said, "I do think it puts him in a precarious position."
A position that Abbott is well aware of. "Abbott has always been a fierce campaigner, but he's also never really had many challengers in a primary election" Blain said, "This is the first time that he's up for a serious challenge, and that goes to show that some people are unhappy with his performance."