Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American attorney who has served as the 48th governor of Texas since January 20, 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Abbott previously served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 to 2015. He is the third governor of any U.S. state to permanently use a wheelchair. He is also the first disabled governor in Texas history.
Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez is set today (Thursday, Dec. 7) to officially put her name on the ballot to run for re-election to that office in 2024.
Valdez had earlier this year announced her intention to run for sheriff again. “Valdez, a leader committed to community safety and justice, will share her vision for the future of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office at a press conference [today] at 11 a.m.,” noted a press release announcing her intention to file.
The press conference will be held at Dallas County Democratic Headquarters, 1414 N. Washington Ave. Valdez became the first openly Latina lesbian elected as a county sheriff in Texas in 2004 when she beat Republican incumbent Danny Chandler by some 18,000 votes.
She was the first Democrat elected sheriff in Dallas County in more than two decades, creating the crack in a previously-solid Republican wall that led to Dallas County shifting from red to blue within the next two years.