Primary elections were held on March 3, 2026. Facing minimal opposition, Abbott won the Republican nomination with 82% of the vote. Hinojosa won the Democratic nomination with 59% of the vote over a field of candidates that included former congressman Chris Bell.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Greg Abbott, incumbent governor (2015–present)
Eliminated in primary
R.F. "Bob" Achgill, literary researcher and candidate for Bryan City Council in 2024
Evelyn Brooks, member of the Texas State Board of Education from the 14th district (2023–present)
Pete "Doc" Chambers, former lieutenant colonel in U.S. Army Special Forces
Charles Andrew Crouch, author
Arturo Espinosa, candidate in 2025 San Antonio mayoral election
Mark V. Goloby, businessman and conservative activist
Kenneth Hyde, contractor
Stephen Samuelson, veteran
Ronnie Tullos, project manager
Nathaniel Welch, businessman
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Gina Hinojosa, state representative from the 49th district (2017–present)
Eliminated in primary
Patricia Abrego
Chris Bell, former U.S. representative for Texas's 25th congressional district (2003–2005), nominee for governor in 2006, candidate for mayor of Houston in 2001 and 2015, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020
Bobby Cole, rancher
Carlton Hart, event manager
Jose Navarro Balbuena, tax strategist
Faizan Syed, manager
Zach Vance, veteran
Angela Villescaz, education and gun safety advocate
Withdrawn
Benjamin Flores, Bay City councilor (running for Land Commissioner, endorsed Hinojosa)
Nick Pappas, Marine veteran (running for Denton County judge)
Andrew White, son of former governor Mark White, and candidate for governor in 2018 (endorsed Hinojosa)
Declined
Jasmine Crockett, U.S. representative from Texas's 30th congressional district (2023–present) (ran for U.S. Senate, endorsed Hinojosa)
Veronica Escobar, U.S. representative from Texas's 16th congressional district (2019–present) (running for re-election, endorsed Hinojosa)
Clay Jenkins, Dallas County judge (2011–present)
Ron Nirenberg, former mayor of San Antonio (2017–2025) (running for Bexar County Judge)
Beto O'Rourke, former U.S. representative from Texas's 16th congressional district (2013–2019), nominee for governor in 2022, nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018, and candidate for president in 2020
Third-party and independent candidates
Candidates
Declared
Pat Dixon (Libertarian), former chair of the Libertarian Party of Texas
Write-in
Edward Earl Giles
Jinghpaw Majoishingra
Mike Miller
Jenn Mack Raphoon (Independent)
Disqualified or did not file
Elliot Charles Chavez (Independent)
Sarah Bowman Cunningham (Independent)
Blas Eugenio Padrino (Independent)
Janis Marie Richards (Independent)
Demetra J. Wysinger (Independent)
Declined
Matthew McConaughey, actor
General election
Hinojosa made public education a major issue in her campaign. She promised that if elected she would fire the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency Mike Morath, whom Abbott appointed, over a recent surge in state takeover of school districts across the state. She also voiced opposition the STAAR tests given to students and to the voucher program that Abbott has signed into law in 2025. Abbott's campaign did not center education, but did advocate for limiting the use of electronic devices in classrooms, increasing punishments for teacher misconduct, and cutting administrative costs and "unnecessary" mandates. Abbott also proposed banning public schools from sponsoring individuals with H-1B visas.
Affordability was also a major issue of the campaign. Abbott pushed a plan to eliminate the use of local property taxes in public school funding and place limits on appraisal increases. Hinojosa proposed issuing a one-time $1,500 rebate to each Texas household funded by the state's Exonomic Stablization Fund.
Abbott attacked Hinojosa's voting record from her tenure in the Texas House of Representatives where she was consistently named one of the most progressive members of the body. He accused her of supporting the creation of a state income tax, and highlighted her past statements on culture war issues like supporting transgender athletes in women's sports where he called her "Gender Bending Gina." Hinojosa rejected the characterization that stated that she was not interested in culture war issues and would instead govern with a "populist" and "postpartisan" agenda that "99 percent of us can agree on."
The election marked the first gubernatorial election since 2010 that did not feature a debate between the two major party candidates. Hinojosa called for a debate, but Abbott declined four separate invitations from Texas-based news outlets who offered to host. On October 15, Hinojosa hosted an event where she challenged Abbott to a debate in front of the Texas Governor's Mansion with an empty podium.
On the first day of early voting, Hinojosa announced that she was suing Abbott for allegedly violating the Texas Public Information Act by withholding certain email communications between Abbott and Elon Musk. Abbott had invoked a privacy exception to redact the information describing the contents as "intimate and embarrassing". A State District Judge ruled in Hinojosa's favor on October 26, granting her access to the documents. Abbott appealed the ruling, accusing Hinojosa "abusing her official capacity as an outgoing lawmaker for political purposes." Musk has a history of donating heavily to multiple Republican campaigns, including $5 million towards Abbott's reelection. Musk's relationship with state officials has prompted accusations of favoritism with the allocation of state grants to a variety of Musk's business operations in the state.
Polling
Aggregate polls
Results
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Bastrop (largest municipality: Elgin)
Brazoria (largest municipality: Pearland)
Brazos (largest municipality: College Station)
Brewster (largest municipality: Alpine)
Caldwell (largest municipality: Lockhart)
Collin (largest municipality: Plano)
Culberson (largest municipality: Van Horn)
Denton (largest municipality: Denton)
Frio (largest municipality: Pearsall)
Jefferson (largest municipality: Beaumont)
Jim Wells (largest municipality: Alice)
Kleberg (largest municipality: Kingsville)
La Salle (largest municipality: Cotulla)
Nueces (largest municipality: Corpus Christi)
Tarrant (largest municipality: Fort Worth)
Val Verde (largest municipality: Del Rio)
Zapata (largest municipality: Zapata)
See also
2026 United States gubernatorial elections
2026 Texas elections
Notes
Partisan clients
External links
Official campaign websites
Greg Abbott (R)
Pat Dixon (L)
Gina Hinojosa (D)
Jenn Mack (I)
