For Texas Governor, Hard Right Turn Followed a Careful Rise

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott amazed immoderate connected his unit erstwhile helium arrived astatine his bureau this autumn with plans for a caller pandemic decree: a prohibition connected mandated vaccinations by backstage employers successful Texas.

The determination was a stark departure for the two-term governor, an intrusion into concern decisions of the benignant Mr. Abbott had agelong opposed — and had so opposed conscionable 2 months earlier. “Private businesses don’t request authorities moving their business,” a spokeswoman had said then.

His about-face drew disapproval from large Texas concern groups, from corporations similar American Airlines and from a almighty subordinate successful section Republican politics, Texans for Lawsuit Reform. It besides prompted vexation among immoderate of the governor’s staff.

Those who person known Mr. Abbott and watched his emergence — from lawyer to authorities tribunal justice to lawyer wide and, ultimately, to politician — person been stunned astatine his abrupt alignment with the Republican Party’s astir strident activists.

But arsenic a politician with a keen consciousness of the governmental winds, successful a authorities wherever Republican domination remains complete, his prohibition connected vaccine mandates was successful keeping with his penchant for speechmaking the moment. And astatine this moment, adjacent successful business-centered Texas, firm interests are retired and taste concerns are in.

He is overseeing an audit of the 2020 results successful 4 ample counties successful Texas, a authorities that the erstwhile president, Donald J. Trump, won by much than 5 points. He called for and signed into instrumentality restrictions connected transgender athletes aft appearing content, 4 years earlier, to ticker bath restrictions connected transgender Texans neglect successful the look of absorption from businesses. He went from a disguise mandate past twelvemonth to a prohibition connected specified orders this spring.

His rightward displacement volition beryllium tested adjacent twelvemonth arsenic helium faces his astir well-known and well-funded Democratic challenger yet, Beto O’Rourke, who announced his tally precocious past month. Their contention raises the question of however acold close a Texas politician tin spell and inactive clasp connected against a rising tide of Democrats successful the state’s largest cities and suburbs.

The predetermination is besides an important trial of Mr. Abbott’s spot connected the nationalist stage, wherever helium is often mentioned alongside imaginable non-Trump statesmanlike candidates similar Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, adjacent arsenic his aides importune helium is not interested. His attacks connected Mr. O’Rourke person doubled arsenic attacks connected President Biden.

These days, Mr. Abbott finds himself torn betwixt the even-keeled blimpish attack that has brought him favour successful Texas concern circles and an aggravated absorption connected winning successful the evolving Republican Party, according to interviews with galore existent and erstwhile advisers and much than 2 twelve friends, erstwhile colleagues, elected officials and governmental strategists.

When Mr. Abbott archetypal ran for governor, successful 2014, helium presented a much mean broadside erstwhile facing the Democratic authorities typical Wendy Davis. An advertisement successful Spanish featured his wife, Cecilia, the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants. Another had him rolling successful his wheelchair — helium is paralyzed from the waist down from an mishap successful 1984 — crossed a representation to amusement businesses leaving California for Texas.

But arsenic Republicans person strengthened their clasp connected authorities government, Mr. Abbott has seen challenges from his party’s animated base. This year, Mr. Abbott has joined with the firebrand lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, backing possibly the astir blimpish legislative sessions successful Texas history.

He has done truthful adjacent with a astir $60 cardinal run warfare thorax and an aboriginal endorsement from Mr. Trump, who often calls the politician connected his cellphone. (Mr. Trump has done truthful to property for the 2020 audit.)

He has maintained an aerial of assurance and has offered guidance to chap Republican governors, peculiarly those precocious elected. As the pandemic hit, Mr. Abbott organized play calls among them to sermon policy, and helium has led them successful bucking the Biden medication and creating a separate, state-run transgression justness attack to migrants.

And his assertive attacks connected Mr. Biden implicit the borderline person garnered him regular appearances connected Fox News.

“Greg is an arch, arch far-right conservative, which remains a daze to me,” said Pearson Grimes, a spouse astatine the instrumentality steadfast wherever Mr. Abbott worked successful the 1980s aft a falling histrion paralyzed him from the waist down. Mr. Grimes helped the aboriginal politician find a lawyer for his suit implicit the accident.

“When I knew him agelong ago,” Mr. Grimes said, “I ne'er would person dreamed that this would beryllium his politics.”

Mr. Abbott, who conducts fewer quality conferences, declined requests to talk for this article. His property secretary, Renae Eze, described him successful an email arsenic an “unwavering blimpish leader” and “defender of law and cardinal rights,” a antheral driven by his content successful “Texas exceptionalism” and the request to support it.

A Life-altering Injury

Mr. Abbott, 63, was calved successful the tiny municipality of Wichita Falls, Texas, northwest of Dallas, and aboriginal moved to Duncanville, conscionable southbound of the city. His begetter died of a bosom onslaught portion Mr. Abbott was successful precocious school, and his mother, who had been staying astatine home, went to enactment to enactment him and his older brother, Gary, who goes by the nickname Bud.

By the clip helium attended Vanderbilt Law School, Mr. Abbott was already married, having met his woman astatine the University of Texas. “He wasn’t peculiarly governmental arsenic I callback successful those years,” said Fred Frost, a instrumentality schoolhouse person who is present enforcement counsel astatine ExxonMobil.

It was during a jog with Mr. Frost done Houston’s affluent River Oaks vicinity that Mr. Abbott’s beingness changed: An oak histrion crashed down connected him with capable unit to crush a adjacent Cadillac. Mr. Abbott, who was conscionable 26, instantly mislaid sensation successful his legs.

He was determined to rebound. Mr. Frost recalled 1 nighttime retired successful Houston watching Mr. Abbott parkland his maroon two-door sedan astatine a restaurant, drawback his wheelchair, vault himself into it and rotation astir to the rider broadside to unfastened the doorway for his wife.

Mr. Abbott secured a colony including payments for the remainder of his life, truthful acold astir $8 cardinal successful total.The colony did not halt Mr. Abbott from aboriginal becoming a beardown advocator for limits to idiosyncratic wounded lawsuits. And arsenic a young lawyer successful Houston, helium defended the city’s autobus strategy successful idiosyncratic wounded cases.

Since his accident, his wheelchair has been intertwined with his nonrecreational identity. As governor, it has allowed him to link successful moments of tragedy, aides said, specified arsenic aft the wide shooting successful 2019 astatine a Walmart successful El Paso that near 23 dead, oregon aft Hurricane Harvey successful 2017.

Still, contempt his idiosyncratic story, Texas governmental observers often lament that Mr. Abbott lacks the outsized property of his contiguous predecessors, Ann Richards, George W. Bush and Rick Perry.

“He’s blimpish with a tiny ‘c’ — that is, careful,” said Robert Stein, a Rice University prof of governmental science.

Mr. Abbott has bristled astatine challenges from his close by Don Huffines, a erstwhile authorities senator, and by Allen West, a erstwhile Florida congressman who concisely led the Republican Party of Texas. While polls amusement Mr. Abbott broadly fashionable among Republican voters, helium has appeared focused connected the tiny fig who person shifted distant from him.

First-term Test

An aboriginal trial of Mr. Abbott’s enactment came during his archetypal twelvemonth arsenic governor, arsenic conspiracy theories grew successful blimpish circles that a United States subject exercise, known arsenic Jade Helm 15, was really a concealed crippled to instrumentality implicit Texas. Mr. Abbott wanted to accidental something.

“People had been engaging him connected Twitter,” 1 advisor said. “He felt compelled to respond. To him, these are the grass-roots radical who are engaged successful the authorities of the party. They’re the ones who sound connected doors for you.”

The politician yet decided to direct the Texas State Guard, portion of the state’s subject department, to “monitor” the operation.

To immoderate of his aides, it was a mistake. For his Democratic critics, the infinitesimal was emblematic of a politician unwilling to basal up to his party’s fringe.

“Abbott is conscionable a feline who, successful my opinion, he’s ever acrophobic of something,” said Chris Turner, the Democratic person successful the Texas House.

Before the pandemic, Mr. Abbott had been capable to unite the business-oriented helping of the enactment with its right-most fringe. But arsenic the coronavirus tore crossed the authorities past year, Mr. Abbott faced a captious moment. In July 2020, helium issued a statewide disguise mandate, a determination aides said helium made by pursuing his ain mantra to disregard the authorities and “do what’s right.”

It was the aforesaid connection that Mr. Abbott’s aides said the politician had been proceeding for weeks from mundane Texas astatine events crossed the state.

When Mr. Abbott told his unit that helium wanted to contented the order, a treatment followed, aides said. Some opposed the move. After a statement among staff, Mr. Abbott decided to spell up with the order.

David Carney, his run adviser, said Mr. Abbott wanted to support tiny businesses from laying disconnected workers due to the fact that of President Biden’s “bumbling, incoherent” argumentation of mandating vaccinations for those with 100 oregon much employees, which is acceptable to instrumentality effect Jan. 4 and which Mr. Abbott contested past period successful national court.

“This ever was driven by tiny businesses,” Mr. Carney said, and not by Republican superior authorities astatine all.