Allen West, the chairman of the Texas Republican Party, resigned on Friday and hinted that he would consider running for governor.
West “has submitted his irrevocable resignation to the officials’ meeting as of 8am CT today,” the Texas GOP said in a press release. “He will remain at the helm of the Texas GOP until a new Chairman can be selected on July 11th at an undetermined location as of now.”
West said in a statement that “it has been my distinct honor to serve as Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. I pray Godspeed for this governing body.”
In an interview about the announcement on WBAP radio, host Chris Salcedo asked West if he was planning to run for governor.
“Am I safe in assuming you are considering a run for governor?” Salcedo said.
“You are safe in that consideration,” West replied.
West also hinted to a reporter that he might run for Congress in his home district.
“There’s a guy in Texas 32 I really don’t care for being my congressional representative,” West said, referring to Representative Collin Allred, a Democrat from Dallas.
Texas will hold its next gubernatorial election in 2022. Current governor Greg Abbott has received the endorsement of former President Trump, however, while West is a staunch backer of Trump he said the endorsement would not be a factor in a potential run.
“You know, I don’t serve President Trump. I serve God, country and Texas,” West said. “So that does not affect me whatsoever.”