Gov. Greg Abbott endorses APD officer Justin Berry for HD 19 race
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed Justin Berry for the House District 19 race.
On Thursday, Abbott announced the endorsement, stating that Berry had a history of serving his community as a member of law enforcement. Berry is a police officer with the Austin Police Department.
"Police officer Justin Berry’s strong conservative values and experience stopping violent crime are exactly what we need in the Texas House. I am proud to endorse conservative Justin Berry and look forward to working with him to secure our border, cut property taxes, and stop the radical left’s harmful agenda,” said Abbott in a press release.
Berry and Ellen Troxclair both advanced to a runoff in the Republican primary.
District 19 covers the entirety of Blanco, Burnet, Gillespie and Kendall Counties, as well as areas in and around Lakeway and Lago Vista in western Travis County. Troxclair received 38.25% of the vote, while Berry received 35.38%.
In March's Republican primary, Berry had his strongest showing in Travis County, where he won 47.97% of the vote. He received a majority of all votes in seven of the county's 18 precincts in the district.
Troxclair, a former Austin City councilmember, won three of the five counties in the district, performing best in Burnet County, and winning a majority of the precincts in both Burnet and Kendall counties, but just one in Travis County.
Austin Police officer indictments
Berry was among the 19 Austin police officers indicted in Travis County, accused of criminal conduct during the May 2020 racial injustice protests.
All 19 officers are accused of harming a total of 10 people during the chaos of the protests, according to official indictment documents. Each officer faces two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant.
Berry released a statement on Twitter at the time of the initial indictments, stating that "DA [Jose] Garza is now using his office to try and influence my election. The timing is not just suspect, it is obvious."
Troxclair and Berry will face off in the runoff election on May 24.