Mr. West\u2019s spats with Governor Greg Abbott over his handling of the pandemic and with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over gun legislation have led to speculation that he will mount a primary challenge to one of them.<\/b>
\nAllen West, a transplanted one-term Florida congressman and right-wing provocateur, announced his resignation on Friday as chairman of the Texas Republican Party, possibly as a precursor to running for statewide office. Mr. West, a former Army officer who was forced to retire after firing a handgun near the head of a prisoner in Iraq, said at a news conference in Whitehouse, Texas, that he was considering running for office. \u201cMaybe something congressional,\u201d he suggested. He had served in the job for less than a year. In that short time, Mr. West \u2014 a Fox News fixture who attended an event in Dallas last month at which Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser to President Donald J. Trump, suggested the United States could witness a military coup \u2014 has earned a reputation for taking on Democrats and Republicans with equal aplomb. His spats with the state\u2019s governor, Greg Abbott, over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over gun legislation have led to speculation that he will mount a Trumpian challenge to one of them in the Republican primaries next March. Texas, a bedrock red state rapidly becoming a battleground, is the site of an intraparty fight between the conservative establishment and media-savvy firebrands like Mr. West, who think Mr. Abbott and Mr. Patrick are not going far enough to the right. On Friday, Mr. West,60, told a conservative Texas radio station that he was considering a challenge to Mr. Abbott but was praying on the matter before making up his mind, according to The Dallas Morning News. A spokesman for the governor\u2019s campaign said that Mr. Abbott, who was elected comfortably in 2014 and 2018, was well positioned to win a third term no matter who ran against him. Don Huffines, a Republican former state senator from Dallas, has already said that he will challenge Mr. Abbott. \u201cIt is now clear that @AllenWest\u2019s entire tenure as @TexasGOP chair was intended to do only what many suspected: Provide him a platform for his political future, not an opportunity to build the party,\u201d wrote Matt Mackowiak, a veteran Republican operative who leads the Republican Party in Travis County, home to Austin. \u201cWhat is he running for?\u201d Mr. West, who will remain at the party\u2019s helm until his successor is chosen next month, wrote that it had been \u201ca distinct honor to serve as Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas,\u201d posting a brief statement on the state party website to announce the end of his tenure.<\/p>\n