CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Mayoral candidate Michael Hunter has put out commercials, text messages and social media posts saying that Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed him for Corpus Christi mayor.
Here's the full text of one message sent to Corpus Christi voters:
BIG NEWS! Governor Greg Abbott endorsed Michael Hunter for Mayor!
Gov. Abbott said: "I've known Michael Hunter for years and consider him a good friend—both to me and to Corpus Christi. He is a successful businessman and committed community leader and is dedicated to ensuring that Corpus Christi is a safe, thriving, and vibrant community. His family ties run deep in Corpus Christi and in our great state. I know that I can work with him to achieve extraordinary success for Corpus Christi."
We need EVERY REPUBLICAN to turn out right away to complete the wave and turn Corpus Christi red for our families. Take 5 minutes and Early Vote right away.
Other news outlets reported the endorsement, but neither the quote nor an endorsement ever appeared on any of Gov. Abbott's social media pages, so we looked into whether this endorsement was true.
THE QUESTION
Did Gov. Greg Abbott endorse Michael Hunter in the runoff race for Corpus Christi mayor?
THE SOURCES
- Renae Eze, Director of Communications for Gov. Greg Abbott
- Press email responses from the Greg Abbott campaign team
- Steve Ray, Communications Director for Michael Hunter Campaign
THE ANSWER
No, Gov. Greg Abbott did not endorse Michael Hunter for mayor. Abbott said very nice things about Hunter and the quote Hunter sent to supporters is accurate, but the governor did not officially endorse Hunter for mayor over Paulette Guajardo.
WHAT WE FOUND
Gov. Greg Abbott's campaign press team quickly verified that the quote Michael Hunter used from Abbott is accurate. That means the governor does consider Michael Hunter a friend and believes he can work with him to "achieve extraordinary success for Corpus Christi."
However, an endorsement in a race means that one person wants one candidate elected over someone else -- in this case incumbent Mayor Paulette Guajardo. The governor's quote stopped short of an endorsement, and despite repeated attempts to clear that up, the governor's team would never say he endorsed Michael Hunter for mayor.
3NEWS first contacted the governor's team on Dec. 4 and got the quote confirmed on Dec. 5. Follow-up calls and emails for clarification on the endorsement question on Dec. 5, Dec. 6, Dec. 9, Dec. 10, and Dec. 12 were ignored.
Communications Director Renae Eze responded via text on Dec. 13 to restate the quote. But she still never would respond to the direct yes or no question asking if this was an endorsement of Hunter over Guajardo. When told 3NEWS planned to say that the governor stopped short of endorsing Hunter unless they cleared that up, the governor's team chose to let that stand.
Steve Ray, political consultant for the Michael Hunter campaign, said that Abbott saying he supports Hunter is an endorsement. But Abbott has specifically used the word "endorsement" in the past when that's the case and posted it to his social media pages. You can see examples here, here and here. Ray said this race is different because it's a non-partisan race.
Abbott could support both Hunter and Guajardo and be happy with whoever wins. His campaign would not clear that up. However, Guajardo has not issued a similar statement from Abbott. The Nueces County Republican Party endorsed Hunter