On October 19, Greg Abbott's campaign announced the endorsement of 11 Democratic sheriffs from across Texas. "I am honored to have the support of these 11 Democrat sheriffs," Abbott said in the release. The endorsement list on his campaign website named 12, Border Report found.
Within days, three of the sheriffs his campaign named said they had never endorsed him.
"I have not issued a political endorsement"
Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez put out a written statement. "I have not issued a political endorsement of Governor Greg Abbott," he wrote, according to the 830 Times. He said he didn't authorize anyone to use his name, that no one from the governor's office ever contacted him about an endorsement, and that he had told the sheriff who submitted the endorsement that he could not endorse Abbott. He said he appreciates the state's help with border resources — but that help is not an endorsement.
Zapata County Sheriff Ramon Montes "is not endorsing anyone at this time," his office told Border Report.
Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar posted on Facebook asking Abbott's campaign to remove his name. "The governor endorsed Tano my brother's opponent," he wrote, as The New Republic reported. Cuellar's brother is Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar.
Two names are still there
On Wednesday afternoon, Abbott's campaign removed Cuellar's name from the endorsement list on its website, Border Report reported — but not Martinez's or Montes'. And as of Friday morning, the campaign's October 19 announcement still lists both Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez and Zapata County Sheriff Ramon Montes among "the following 11 sheriffs" who "endorsed Governor Abbott" — days after both said publicly that they hadn't.
In other words, it's no longer a mix-up. The campaign knows two sheriffs say they didn't endorse, and it's still telling voters they did.
The campaign doesn't call it a mix-up either. Its press secretary, Eduardo Leal, told Border Report that Martinez "proudly endorsed Gov. Abbott for reelection" in January and that "the Hidalgo County sheriff has pressured him to retract that endorsement." Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra told Border Report, "I did not 'pressure' anyone to retract an endorsement." The campaign's statement says nothing about Montes.
Why a fake endorsement matters
Sheriffs are trusted on exactly one thing in a governor's race: public safety. Abbott's release said these sheriffs "crossed party lines because they know Governor Abbott upholds the rule of law." A Democratic sheriff from a border county backing a Republican governor is a strong message — which is why padding the list with sheriffs who never signed on is a real deception, not a typo.
It also fits a habit. Abbott's campaign has been caught stretching the truth in ads before — including a $12 million ad claiming Gina Hinojosa voted 40 times to raise property taxes, while his own other ad admits the state doesn't levy property taxes.
What the record shows
Greg Abbott's campaign announced on October 19 that 11 Democratic sheriffs had endorsed him. The sheriffs of Val Verde, Zapata and Webb counties said they had not — Val Verde's sheriff said no one from the governor's office ever asked him. Abbott's campaign removed only the Webb County sheriff from its website's list, and its announcement still lists the other two as supporters.
