2026 Texas gubernatorial election

Last updated

2026 Texas gubernatorial election
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Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent Governor

Greg Abbott
Republican



The 2026 Texas gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican Governor Greg Abbott declared his intention to run for election to an unprecedented fourth term on November 9, 2025. [1] If Abbott were to be successful and finish out a fourth full term, he would become the state's longest-serving governor with 16 years on January 21, 2031, surpassing the 14 years of his predecessor, Rick Perry. He would also tie with former South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow as the fifth longest-serving governor in United States history at 5,845 days served.

Contents

Party primaries are scheduled on March 3, 2026, and potential primary runoffs would be on May 26, 2026. The filing deadline is December 8, 2025.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

  • Greg Abbott, incumbent governor (2015–present) [1]
  • Pete Chambers, former Lieutenant Colonel in U.S. Army Special Forces [2]
  • Mark Goloby, businessman and conservative activist [3]

Endorsements

Greg Abbott
Executive branch officials

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Potential

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Independents

Candidates

Potential

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [18] Solid RSeptember 11, 2025
Inside Elections [19] Solid RAugust 28, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [20] Safe RSeptember 4, 2025
Race to the WH [21] Lean ROctober 10, 2025

Polling

Hypothetical polling

Generic Republican vs. generic Democrat

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [b] 		Margin
of error		Generic
Republican		Generic
Democrat		OtherUndecided
Texas Public Opinion Research [22] August 27–29, 2025843 (RV)± 4.6%49%43%8% [c] –

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ County executive
  2. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  3. ↑ "Someone else" with 8%

References

  1. 1 2 Gou, Kayla (November 9, 2025). "Gov. Greg Abbott launches reelection campaign for fourth term". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  2. ↑ "From Greek Roots to the Texas Frontier: Pete Chambers Bold Run for Governor". Helleniscope. June 30, 2025. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Mark Goloby Announces Campaign for Texas Governor". The Texas Tribune. July 10, 2025. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  4. ↑ Pinedo, Peter (November 3, 2025). "Trump issues 'complete and total' endorsement in Lone Star governor's race". Fox News . Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  5. ↑ Jeffers, Gromer (November 10, 2025). "Another Democrat joins the race for Texas governor in 2026". The Dallas Morning News .
  6. ↑ Bugenhagen, Faith (June 24, 2025). "East Texas farmer launches 2026 bid to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott". Chron.com . Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  7. ↑ Wermund, Benjamin (October 15, 2025). "Austin state Rep. Gina Hinojosa launches Democratic bid against Greg Abbott". Austin American-Statesman . Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  8. ↑ Koithan, Stephanie (September 24, 2025). "Democrat Andrew White is running for Texas governor. Again". San Antonio Current. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  9. ↑ Smith, Molly (September 12, 2025). "Sources: Ron Nirenberg weighing run for governor or county judge". San Antonio Express-News . Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  10. ↑ Washington, Zacharia (May 20, 2025). "Here are 5 key points from Beto O'Rourke's town hall in Garland". The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved May 20, 2025. When a young kid asked O'Rourke at the rally in Garland 'if he was going to face Texas Gov. Greg Abbott again,"' his answer, in short, was 'we'll see on the decision to run down the road.'
  11. ↑ Van Hal, Kavan (October 17, 2025). "Flores exits governor race, launches bid for Texas Land Commissioner". Bay City Tribune . Retrieved October 21, 2025. Flores also announced his endorsement of State Representative Gina Hinojosa for governor.
  12. ↑ Wermund, Benjamin (September 18, 2025). "Why Texas Democrats aren't lining up to take on Greg Abbott in the midterms". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Nir, David (October 15, 2025). "Morning Digest: Arizona threatens to sue after House GOP refuses to seat Democrat" . Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  14. ↑ Solender, Andrew (April 10, 2025). "A growing wave of House members is grasping for higher office". Axios . Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  15. ↑ Jeffers, Gromer Jr. (April 7, 2025). "Texas Democrats are searching for 2026 candidates as they resist President Donald Trump". The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  16. ↑ Molina, Daniel (October 21, 2025). "Collin Allred, James Talarico Endorse Gina Hinojosa for Governor". Texas Politics. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  17. ↑ Zelman, Kevin. "Matthew McConaughey wants to become the Governor of Texas one day". KFOX14. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  18. ↑ "2026 CPR Governor Race ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections . Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  20. ↑ "2026 Governor". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Governor Forecast - 2026-2026". Race to the WH. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Texas Senate Primaries Take Shape as Statewide Races Stay Close". Texas Public Opinion Research. September 12, 2025. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
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