WASHINGTON — It was probably not an accident that Gov. Greg Abbott ended up on the phone in early April with President Donald Trump’s trade ambassador, Robert Lighthizer.

The governor had six days earlier publicly released a letter to Lighthizer voicing concerns about Trump's approach on the North American Free Trade Agreement. The letter was one of at least three Abbott has sent to the administration urging the president to alter his course on trade.

A message sent and received.

While it's unknown what was discussed — and there is little evidence Abbott has convinced Trump to rein in his trade fight — the exchange highlights the easy access the governor and other statewide elected officials in Texas are enjoying these days in Washington.

That much is evident in a review by The Dallas Morning News of Texas officeholders' official schedules, which show that Abbott alone has had scores of interactions with top brass in both the administration and on Capitol Hill since Trump took office in January 2017.

Close ties between a Republican governor and a Republican president and a Republican-run Congress are not a major surprise, particularly with Texas’ outsize role in shaping public policy.

But the deep connections between Abbott and the Trump administration could be significant ahead of the November election, given that Trump is a divisive figure capable of motivating base supporters in both parties.

Abbott’s camp, not surprisingly, sees the bond as an advantage in his race against former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez. He's bragged that Texas has benefited from Trump’s tax and regulatory policies, a slate of new federal judges, and federal aid after Hurricane Harvey.

“Texans want results,” said Abbott spokeswoman Ciara Matthews, citing trade as an area where Abbott has pushed back on the administration.

Valdez, also not surprisingly, sees the cozy relationship between Abbott and Trump as a negative. She's accused the governor of underfunding the hurricane recovery, blasted him for backing Trump on health care and immigration, and said Abbott has put special interests over average Texans.

“Gov. Abbott’s meetings with Donald Trump and Washington, D.C., officials have been a wasted opportunity for Texans across the state,” the Democrat said in a written statement.

Abbott and Valdez will meet for their only debate Friday in Austin.

The job description for any Texas statewide elected official typically involves work with their federal counterparts and sometimes includes trips to Washington for appearances.

But the vast majority of those interactions happen outside the public’s view.

Gov. Greg Abbott has had at least 19 calls, meetings or appearances with President Donald Trump. An Abbott spokeswoman touted that working relationship, saying, "Texans want results." (Andy Jacobsohn / Staff Photographer)

To better understand the relationships, The News used open-records requests to get the official schedules for Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Comptroller Glenn Hegar, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and General Land Commissioner George P. Bush.

That information is imperfect.

Officials chronicle their work in varying specificity — for instance, only Abbott regularly lists every meeting participant. Campaign-related activities are typically excluded from these schedules, and campaign finance records often don’t provide much detail.

But even an incomplete look sheds new light on how Texans are faring in Trump's Washington.

Patrick has traveled to Washington on his campaign's dime to meet with the president's political staff. Paxton is a regular visitor to the capital, meeting with the likes of White House counsel Don McGahn, White House adviser Stephen Miller and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Hegar testified at a House committee hearing. Sid Miller keeps in touch with Trump officials in part through calls organized by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Bush has had lots of contact with Housing and Urban Development officials about Harvey recovery.

Abbott, however, is in a class of his own.

The governor has had more than 200 contacts with federal officials, including several on a Washington trip last year that was devoted almost entirely to Harvey aid. He's had at least 19 calls, meetings or appearances with Trump. He has connected, by phone or in person, with the vast majority of Trump's Cabinet.

It's quite different from Abbott's relationship with former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. Abbott, in his former role as Texas attorney general, once described his routine thusly: "I go into the office, I sue the federal government, and I go home."

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez criticized Gov. Greg Abbott's close ties to the Trump administration. The former Dallas County sheriff said, "Gov. Abbott's meetings with Donald Trump and Washington, D.C., officials have been a wasted opportunity for Texans across the state." (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

Nowadays, Abbott and the White House are working “collaboratively and effectively on strategies that benefit Texas,” Matthews said, praising the whole administration for being accessible but singling out Vice President Mike Pence.

Sometimes those connections are due to issues like immigration.

Abbott spoke to then Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly six days after Kelly was sworn in and later hosted him on a border tour. He met with former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director Tom Homan in Austin. He now has regular calls with current Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Sometimes those interactions result from tragic circumstances.

The day of the Santa Fe school shooting, Abbott spoke by phone with Trump, Pence, Nielsen, and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. He also met with Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz on the ground in the tiny community outside Houston.

Sometimes the nature of the ties isn’t exactly clear.

Abbott has twice spoken by phone with his predecessor, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, within minutes of holding staff briefings on prisoner executions. The spokeswoman for Abbott, who granted clemency in one of those cases, wouldn't say if the calls and meetings were related.

It remains to be seen if any of that has sway in November, when Abbott is a heavy favorite to win re-election over Valdez.

For Valdez, it’s “tough to criticize the governor for meeting with Cabinet officials,” said Mark Jones, a Rice University political scientist. But Jones also said Valdez could have some openings, particularly given Trump’s standing as a lightning rod.

That could come from highlighting Abbott’s contacts with contentious staffers, such as former White House adviser Steve Bannon. Or it could come from stressing differences with Abbott on issues like immigration, trade or disaster relief.

Valdez, at the least, is not shying away from taking those shots.

She said that, if elected, she would “never pass up an opportunity to work across the aisle if it means Texans benefit, but Texans also shouldn’t doubt that I will never back down from anything that remotely threatens our prosperity — whether that is Donald Trump or anyone else.”

She offered immigration as an example, accusing Abbott of leading the fight to deport the tens of thousands of Texans who are so-called Dreamers — young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

“Abbott claims that he is working for the people while spending time away from their struggles,” Valdez said. “But with results like these, Texans are questioning who these people are that Abbott is talking about.”