Texas Gov. Greg Abbott thanks Iowa for sending National Guard to border at Reynolds event

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott used his headline slot at Gov. Kim Reynolds' annual fundraiser Saturday night to thank her for sending Iowa National Guard soldiers and law enforcement to the U.S.-Mexico border.

"The primary reason why I’m here tonight is to say thank you," said Abbott, a Republican. "Thank you to Gov. Reynolds. Thank you to your state Legislature. Thank you to the taxpayers of the incredible state of Iowa. Thank you for sending your National Guard and law enforcement officers to our border to help us secure our border and protect our sovereignty."

Abbott headlined Reynolds' annual Harvest Festival fundraiser, held at the Oman Family Youth Inn on the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Ahead of the event, Reynolds snapped selfies with members of the crowd, including a woman wearing a blue sequined "Trump-Vance" jacket.

In the back of the room, organizers served a barbecue dinner and a merchandise vendor sat under a "Make America Sparkle Again" sign, selling more of the sequined jackets.

Abbott spent the bulk of his speech recounting his efforts to combat illegal immigration in Texas, often in defiance of the federal government.

Those efforts include the creation of Operation Lone Star, which has mobilized law enforcement from several states, including Iowa, to send to the border.

Abbott has also fought with the federal government over his placement of buoys in the Rio Grande River to stop migrants from crossing, as well as razor wire at other sections of the border. A federal appeals court ruled in July that Texas could keep the buoys in the river.

In his speech, Abbott contrasted former President Donald Trump's handling of the border with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who he claimed "opened up the entire border."

"As governor of Texas, you can count on me that to my last breath I will continue to secure our border," he said. "But I don’t have the authority to secure the border of New Mexico, Arizona and California. We need a president of the United States who’s going to enforce the immigration laws of the United States. We need Donald J. Trump back into the White House."

Reynolds has often aligned herself with Abbott on border issues in opposition to the Biden administration. She has traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas multiple times as governor and she has sent Iowa personnel to the border on multiple occasions.

Earlier this year, Reynolds sent more than 100 Iowa State Patrol officers and National Guard soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist Texas law enforcement's efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

In April, Reynolds signed a law modeled after Texas legislation that creates a new state crime of "illegal reentry" into the state and allows Iowa law enforcement officers arrest undocumented immigrants. The U.S. Justice Department and immigrants rights groups filed separate lawsuits seeking to halt Iowa's law, and in June a federal judge blocked it from being enforced.

U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants reached record highs in 2023 before dropping significantly in 2024. In June, Biden issued an executive order making it harder for migrants to claim asylum and easier for U.S. officials to remove or deport people illegally crossing into the country.

Speaking at the fundraiser, Reynolds accused Harris of "running away from her record" and sought to tie her to the Biden administration.

"They keep saying that the Harris administration is a new way forward, that it’s going to be different," Reynolds said, referring to the Harris campaign's slogan. "Well, I agree it’s going to be different, but I can guarantee you, it’s going to be worse."

Reynolds also touted her own work in Iowa with the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature to pass "school choice" policies, raise teacher pay, eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion offices at state universities, ban transgender women from competing in women's sports and cut taxes.

"I’ve signed five tax cuts into law over the last six years, lowering taxes for every single Iowan who pays them," she said.

In shift, Republicans push early voting

In a shift from Republicans' previous focus on Election Day voting, Reynolds and other GOP speakers repeatedly urged the crowd to vote early this year.

Early voting in Iowa begins Oct. 16 this year, 20 days before the Nov. 5 general election. Reynolds said the election will come down to turnout and she and her husband, Kevin, plan to vote early.

"We’re encouraging you to go in and vote and bank that vote so that we can take the limited resources that we have, be more efficient with those limited resources and do everything we can to get more people to the polls," she said. "So help us drive that message. Please consider voting early."

Trump has repeatedly criticized early voting and falsely claimed that the practice led to massive fraud in the 2020 election. But more recently he has encouraged his supporters to vote early.

Republicans in Iowa have repeatedly shortened Iowa's early voting period from 40 days down to the current 20. Reynolds signed the most recent law change in 2021.

Speaking after Reynolds and Abbott, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst echoed the governor's message.

"Kim, I’m going to vote early, too," she said. "I am voting early, too. I don’t normally vote early because I love to go in and vote at my polling place but I am voting early. If you can vote early, do it."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Greg Abbott thanks Iowa for sending National Guard troops to border