You must be registered, and you'll need voter ID. John C. Moritz/USA Today Network
The Republican governor releases attack ad on the former Dallas County sheriff even though the Democratic nomination is not yet settled.
AUSTIN – While Texas Democrats have yet to choose their nominee for governor, Republican incumbent Greg Abbott is already aiming his guns directly at one of the hopefuls, former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez.
Abbott, seeking his second term in November, released a 30-second YouTube ad late Tuesday that features Valdez. The ad says Valdez favors getting rid of the so-called sanctuary cities law enacted last year, which was billed as a border security measure by state Republican leaders.
In the piece, Valdez replies "totally, totally," to a question during an interview by the Texas Tribune where she is asked if she would "be an advocate for getting rid of the law" known as Senate Bill 4.
Abbott has made the sanctuary cities measure one of his cornerstone achievements of the 2017 legislative session.
“While the governor was fighting to pass this legislation and keep Texans safe, Lupe Valdez joined fearmongers in opposition to the law," Alex Trevino of the Abbott campaign said in a statement. "Lupe Valdez has made clear she would ‘eviscerate’ the ban on sanctuary cities, preferring instead to make Texas a sanctuary state in the footsteps of California."
On Wednesday, Valdez reiterated her opposition to the bill backed and signed by the governor. She noted that as a former sheriff, she and others in law enforcement warned that the legislation would cause distrust of local police in minority communities.
"Unlike Governor Abbott, I pledge to support law enforcement leaders and other local elected officials when they take actions like these to defend their communities and protect public safety," she said. "I call on the people of Texas to support these local leaders as well. Local law enforcement needs partners at their side as they advocate to have the funding, resources, and training they need to implement these policies."
At a forum two weeks ago, Valdez came under fire from a Latino Democratic-leaning audience when she suggested she had little choice but to cooperate with federal immigration authorities during her 13 years as sheriff in Dallas.
That response contributed to the forum organizer, Jolt Texas, choosing to endorse rival Andrew White in the May 22 runoff to decide who will face Abbott.
And to add another dig at Valdez, the governor's camp posted the "sanctuary cities" video on a website it purchased called lupevaldez.org. Valdez's official campaign website is lupevaldez.com, but it is not unusual for candidates to buy up numerous domain names that might otherwise be taken by opponents to make mischief.
Valdez was the leading vote-getter in the March 6 Democratic primary, but did not score an outright majority, which prompted the need for the runoff. Her campaign did not immediately respond to Abbott's latest attack.
Early voting for the runoff continues through Friday.
John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at John.Moritz@caller.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.