Karl Rove said credible threats followed his announcement that he would vote for Democrat John Rosenthal, his first Democratic vote in 30 years. He said Texas DPS placed an officer outside his home for a week, but did not say whether the detail continues.
Speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival, Rove pushed back against Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who called him a “RINO.” He said he raised $13 million from outside Texas for state House races in 2020 and that his volunteer voter-registration project had registered 220,000 new Republicans “this cycle” and more than 800,000 since it began in 2019.
Rove said the threats served as an incentive to write a Wall Street Journal column titled “Why I’m Voting For a Texas Democrat.” He called Rosenthal’s Republican opponent, Bo French, a “bigot” and said French was undeserving of a place on the Texas Railroad Commission.
