State

Governor

Vote for: 1
Term: 4 years
Candidates: 3
Election: Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: The Governor leads Texas's executive branch, signs or vetoes bills passed by the Legislature, can call special legislative sessions, and appoints state officials and fills judicial vacancies.

Candidates Compare by issue

Gina Hinojosa

Democratic

The gist

Proposes $1,500 refund checks from the Rainy Day Fund.
Proposes ending corporate subsidies to cut property taxes.
Pledges to end STAAR testing and pause A-F school ratings.
Opposes the state's private school voucher program.
Proposes freezing home electricity rates until data centers pay.
Supports an immediate moratorium on new data centers.
Proposes stopping private equity firms from buying up homes.
Pledges to ban bad-faith insurance denials and aid rural hospitals.

More about Gina

View sources (3)

Proposes $1,500 refund checks from the Rainy Day Fund.
An Affordable Texas That Works for Everyone | Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor
Campaign website · Gina Hinojosa campaign · ginafortexas.com
“Gina will direct the legislature to deliver a bill to her desk to issue one-time $1,500 refund checks to every household in Texas.”
Proposes ending corporate subsidies to cut property taxes.
An Affordable Texas That Works for Everyone | Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor
Campaign website · Gina Hinojosa campaign · ginafortexas.com
“We must end these corporate subsidies and use the savings to cut property taxes, with the end goal of eliminating residential property taxes.”
Pledges to end STAAR testing and pause A-F school ratings.
Save Texas Public Schools | Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor
Campaign website · Gina Hinojosa campaign · ginafortexas.com
“As Governor, Gina will end the STAAR test and tests like it, pause the rigged A-F accountability system”
Opposes the state's private school voucher program.
Q&A: Meet the 3 candidates running for Texas governor
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“I will end the STAAR test and the voucher scam, end district takeovers”
Save Texas Public Schools | Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor
Campaign website · Gina Hinojosa campaign · ginafortexas.com
“Gina rejects spending big money on school vouchers and expensive vendors.”
Proposes freezing home electricity rates until data centers pay.
Q&A: Meet the 3 candidates running for Texas governor
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“freeze residential electricity rates until we ensure data centers pay for themselves”
Supports an immediate moratorium on new data centers.
Q&A: Meet the 3 candidates running for Texas governor
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“We need an immediate moratorium on data centers until the legislature meets to end the taxpayer subsidies and protect Texans.”
Proposes stopping private equity firms from buying up homes.
An Affordable Texas That Works for Everyone | Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor
Campaign website · Gina Hinojosa campaign · ginafortexas.com
“Gina will preserve homeownership for Texans by stopping private equity firms from buying up housing.”
Pledges to ban bad-faith insurance denials and aid rural hospitals.
An Affordable Texas That Works for Everyone | Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor
Campaign website · Gina Hinojosa campaign · ginafortexas.com
“hold profiteering healthcare companies accountable by banning bad-faith denials, and strengthen our rural hospital system”

Pat Dixon

Libertarian

The gist

Pledges to identify spending cuts before cutting taxes.
Opposes state tax incentives for AI data centers.
Supports a statewide scholarship following each child to any school.
Supports nonpartisan redistricting.
Supports letting cities adopt approval voting.
Supports requiring warrants for police use of camera data.
Opposes Texas restrictions on hemp-derived THC products.

More about Pat

View sources (8)

Pledges to identify spending cuts before cutting taxes.
Property Tax | Pat Dixon for Governor
Campaign website · Pat Dixon campaign · patdixon.org
“If I am elected governor, I will work on identifying spending cuts first, which will lead to lower taxes.”
Opposes state tax incentives for AI data centers.
Q&A: Meet the 3 candidates running for Texas governor
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“I do not oppose the existence of any industry if they pay for their impact.”
AI Data Centers | Pat Dixon for Governor
Campaign website · Pat Dixon campaign · patdixon.org
“We should not be paying to bring AI Data Centers to Texas.”
Supports a statewide scholarship following each child to any school.
School Choice | Pat Dixon for Governor
Campaign website · Pat Dixon campaign · patdixon.org
“Ideally, I would like a statewide scholarship. Every child would be given the same amount of money to follow them to any school.”
Supports nonpartisan redistricting.
Non-Partisan Redistricting | Pat Dixon for Governor
Campaign website · Pat Dixon campaign · patdixon.org
“We need non-partisan redistricting.”
Supports letting cities adopt approval voting.
Approval Voting | Pat Dixon for Governor
Campaign website · Pat Dixon campaign · patdixon.org
“As governor of Texas, I would support the ability for cities to use better voting systems.”
Supports requiring warrants for police use of camera data.
Flock Cameras | Pat Dixon for Governor
Campaign website · Pat Dixon campaign · patdixon.org
“but a warrant is the cost of doing business”
Opposes Texas restrictions on hemp-derived THC products.
The War on Hemp | Pat Dixon for Governor
Campaign website · Pat Dixon campaign · patdixon.org
“I applaud Greg Abbot for vetoing it. … adults should be free to make their own choices, provided they don't harm others”

Greg Abbott

RepublicanIncumbent

The gist

Proposes eliminating school district property taxes for homeowners.
Proposes lowering electricity, insurance and housing costs.
Proposes a new affordable health plan and drug cost caps.
Supports conditions data centers must meet to connect.
Signed an $8.5 billion public school funding increase.
Signed Texas's first universal school choice program.
Signed laws letting judges deny bail for violent crimes.
Led Operation Lone Star, the state border security effort.

More about Greg

View sources (4)

Proposes eliminating school district property taxes for homeowners.
Governor Abbott Meets with Rural Texans to Discuss the Abbott Affordability Agenda in Wichita Falls
Campaign website · Texans for Greg Abbott · gregabbott.com
“his plan to eliminate school district property taxes for homeowners”
Governor Abbott Brings Affordability Agenda to Gainesville, Meets with Rural Texans
Campaign website · Texans for Greg Abbott · gregabbott.com
“help the average Texas homeowner save more than $3,000 per year”
Proposes lowering electricity, insurance and housing costs.
Q&A: Meet the 3 candidates running for Texas governor
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“My Keep Texas Affordable plan slashes property taxes, expands competition to lower electricity bills, rewards safe drivers with lower insurance premiums”
Proposes a new affordable health plan and drug cost caps.
Q&A: Meet the 3 candidates running for Texas governor
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“capping cost of lifesaving drugs, and creating a new affordable health insurance plan”
Supports conditions data centers must meet to connect.
Q&A: Meet the 3 candidates running for Texas governor
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“Data centers must not take water or power needed by Texans, must lower electricity costs for Texans, pay their own infrastructure costs”
Governor Abbott Brings Affordability Agenda to Gainesville, Meets with Rural Texans
Campaign website · Texans for Greg Abbott · gregabbott.com
“any data center that fails to meet these standards will be denied connection to the Texas grid”
Signed an $8.5 billion public school funding increase.
Q&A: Meet the 3 candidates running for Texas governor
Candidate questionnaire · Community Impact · communityimpact.com
“Last session, I signed a historic $8.5 billion public education investment, including the largest teacher pay raise in Texas history.”
Signed Texas's first universal school choice program.
Issues - Greg Abbott
Campaign website · Texans for Greg Abbott · gregabbott.com
“Created the first universal school choice program in Texas, investing $1 billion for "Education Freedom Accounts"”
Signed laws letting judges deny bail for violent crimes.
Issues - Greg Abbott
Campaign website · Texans for Greg Abbott · gregabbott.com
“Passed the strongest bail reform package in state history, allowing judges to deny bail for violent crimes such as murder and rape”
Led Operation Lone Star, the state border security effort.
Issues - Greg Abbott
Campaign website · Texans for Greg Abbott · gregabbott.com
“Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 8 issues covered in this race.