Lieutenant Colonel Allen West announced his candidacy to become Governor of Texas this morning in a 7-minute video that detailed his history, celebrated the heroes of the Texas Revolution, and using comparisons to the Alamo, urged Texans to join him on the “right” side of the “line in the stand” with their vote.
“Now it is our time, it is our time to stand up and honor those words of Texas, Our Texas, and to secure the future for our children and our grandchildren, to make sure the growth, the opportunity, and the prosperity, the economic success that you see here in Texas, continues on,” said West, after exploring the Republic of Texas’s rich history of volunteers and politicians who came from other states. West, who was born in Georgia and attended the University of Tennessee noted that over 30 men from Georgia and Tennessee were among the early leaders of the Republic of Texas, and those who fought at the Alamo.
“That means that we stay energy independent, and we fuel America, so that we’re not dependent on other nations – other nations that are our enemies,” said West. “To make sure that we secure our borders, to make sure that Texas is for Texans.” West added, “We cannot live in a state that is the number one state for human and sex trafficking in the United States of America. That’s not how we protect our children and our legacy.” West then suggested Texas needs modern heroes to match those of the Texas Revolution.
“There comes a time when a warrior understands that, maybe he has to go back, to pull out that sword, and do that exact same thing that a 26-year-old did at the Alamo. Yes, William Barret Travis,” said West, “When he drew a line in the sand, and he challenged the defenders at the Alamo to stand on the right stand of that line. I am now drawing my sword, and I would draw that line in the sand, and I will ask you to stand with me, to preserve the future, the legacy of Texas, to honor the words of our state song, to stand for something, or as my mother would say, not fall for anything.”
“This is our moment in time, I have not been in elected political office for about a decade. But I can no longer sit on the sidelines and see what is happening to these United States of America, what is happening in the place that I call home, where my daughters will raise their families, where my young grandson,” he added, “will grow up as a proud Texan.”
“It’s time for grandpa to step up, and once again find his place on the ramparts of freedom and liberty, just like those Georgians and Tennesseans did many years ago, for those 13 days at the Alamo,” said West. “You have asked me to come back into service for God, the country, and for Texas, and for a time such as this. And that’s why I am running to be your Governor of the Lone Star State, so that we can protect and defend our home, the Republic that we call Texas.”
West recently appeared on National File TV and previewed his decision to run for governor, telling National File that he would make an important announcement about his political future in the next 96 hours. Many speculated West would announce a run for governor after he resigned from his position as Chair of the Texas Republican Party, something made necessary by Texas Republicans in order for West to run for governor.