Later this month, a number of prominent Republicans, including many prospective 2024 presidential contenders, are scheduled to go to Austin for a private retreat for donors to a Texas voter registration drive.
On February 24, former vice president Mike Pence, former ambassador of the United States to the United Nations Nikki Haley, U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, and former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie will all speak at a conference. That is in accordance with an email sent last week by Republican strategist Karl Rove, a longtime fund-raiser for the voter registration drive known as the Texas Voter Engagement Project.
One of the “two more exceptional visitors we hope to reveal shortly” is an American, the email teased. Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the house, according to a Wednesday invitation update.
U.S. Gov. Greg Abbott and The event will be held at the Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa with assistance from Sen. John Cornyn. Depending on what happens in the legislative session that began last month, Cornyn is scheduled to give the opening remarks, and Abbott intends to attend. No one else is allowed to attend the event.
Interviews with speakers from other states will also be conducted by members of the Texas congressional delegation.
The two most prominent candidates for the 2024 presidential election are currently not included in the event: former president Donald Trump, who is already running, and Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced but has emerged as Trump’s most formidable possible rival. Early in March, DeSantis will go to Texas to speak at fundraiser dinners for the Harris and Dallas counties’ Republican parties.
DeSantis attended a retreat of this kind that took place in Austin in May 2021.
After a challenging 2018 election, Texas Republicans sought to revitalize their key party initiatives. This is when the Voter Engagement Project was founded. According to the project, it has since registered nearly 400,000 additional Republican voters.
The conference is intended to express gratitude to both contributors and volunteers, particularly the most active ones, who included the Texas Federation of Republican Women members.
