Greg Abbott
Republican · TX · Governor of Texas
Greg Abbott has been governor of Texas since 2015, after 13 years as attorney general and five as a justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Paralyzed in a 1984 accident, he is the first Texas governor to use a wheelchair.
Where Greg Abbott stands, based on their records
Supports
Government Efficiency (1 record), Public Safety and Crime Control (1 record), Housing Affordability (1 record),
Opposes
Healthcare Affordability (1 record), Immigration (6 records), Government Spending Reduction (2 records),
Mixed record
Environment and Public Health (1 support · 2 oppose)
Track record
Track record — Healthcare Affordability
Healthcare Affordability · 1 oppose
Signed Senate Bill 14 on June 2, 2023, banning puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and transition surgeries for transgender minors.
June 2, 2023Opposes Healthcare Affordability
Source: ksat.com
Track record — Environment and Public Health
Environment and Public Health · 1 support · 2 oppose
Issued an executive order (GA-38) on July 29, 2021, barring Texas government entities from requiring people to wear masks or get COVID-19 vaccines.
July 29, 2021Opposes Environment and Public Health
Source: mondaq.com
Issued an executive order (GA-34) on March 2, 2021, ending the statewide mask mandate and letting all businesses open at 100 percent capacity.
March 2, 2021Opposes Environment and Public Health
Source: gov.texas.gov
Issued an executive order on July 2, 2020, requiring face coverings in public spaces in Texas counties with 20 or more COVID-19 cases, with some exceptions.
July 2, 2020Supports Environment and Public Health
Source: gov.texas.gov
Track record — Government Efficiency
Government Efficiency · 1 support
Signed Senate Bill 14 on April 23, 2025, creating the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office and a process aimed at reducing and reviewing state regulations.
April 23, 2025Supports Government Efficiency
Source: apnews.com
Track record — Immigration
Immigration · 6 oppose
Signed Senate Bill 4 on December 18, 2023, making illegal entry into Texas from Mexico a state crime and letting state judges order migrants back to Mexico.
December 18, 2023Opposes Immigration
Source: ksat.com
Was sued by the U.S. Justice Department on July 24, 2023, after refusing to remove a floating buoy barrier he had placed in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass.
July 24, 2023Opposes Immigration
Source: npr.org
Announced a state program on April 6, 2022, using charter buses to send migrants from border towns to Washington, D.C.
April 6, 2022Opposes Immigration
Source: tpr.org
Launched Operation Lone Star with the Texas Department of Public Safety on March 6, 2021, sending state police and Texas National Guard resources to the border to stop smuggling of people and drugs.
March 6, 2021Opposes Immigration
Source: gov.texas.gov
Signed Senate Bill 4 on May 7, 2017, banning sanctuary cities. The law requires local police and jails to honor federal immigration detainer requests, with fines and possible removal from office for officials who refuse.
May 7, 2017Opposes Immigration
Source: gov.texas.gov
As Texas Attorney General, filed a federal lawsuit on December 3, 2014, joined by 16 other states, challenging President Obama's executive action shielding millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation. It was his 31st lawsuit against the Obama administration.
December 3, 2014Opposes Immigration
Source: texastribune.org
Track record — Government Spending Reduction
Government Spending Reduction · 2 oppose
As governor, signed Senate Bill 2 in May 2025, creating a $1 billion education savings account (private school voucher) program allowing state funds toward private-school tuition — the culmination of his multi-year school-choice push.
May 3, 2025Opposes Government Spending Reduction
Source: kut.org
Signed House Bill 3 on June 11, 2019, an $11.6 billion school finance law with about $6.5 billion in new public school spending and about $5.1 billion to lower property taxes.
June 11, 2019Opposes Government Spending Reduction
Source: kut.org
Track record — Public Safety and Crime Control
Public Safety and Crime Control · 1 support
Launched Operation Lone Star with the Texas Department of Public Safety on March 6, 2021, sending state police and Texas National Guard resources to the border to stop smuggling of people and drugs.
March 6, 2021Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: gov.texas.gov
Track record — Housing Affordability
Housing Affordability · 1 support
Signed the $18 billion property tax cut package passed in a 2023 special session at a ceremony on August 9, 2023. It sent a homestead exemption increase to $100,000 to voters.
August 9, 2023Supports Housing Affordability
Source: gov.texas.gov
Track record — Public Education Quality
Public Education Quality · 2 support
Signed House Bill 2 on June 4, 2025, providing $8.5 billion in new public-education funding, including $4 billion for teacher and staff pay raises.
June 4, 2025Supports Public Education Quality
Source: gov.texas.gov
Signed House Bill 3 on June 11, 2019, an $11.6 billion school finance law with about $6.5 billion in new public school spending and about $5.1 billion to lower property taxes.
June 11, 2019Supports Public Education Quality
Source: kut.org
Track record — Gun Control
Gun Control · 2 oppose
Signed House Bill 1927 on June 16, 2021, letting most Texans 21 and older carry handguns without a license or training.
June 16, 2021Opposes Gun Control
Source: click2houston.com
Signed House Bill 910 and Senate Bill 11 on June 13, 2015. The laws let licensed Texans carry handguns openly and carry concealed handguns on public college campuses.
June 13, 2015Opposes Gun Control
Source: gov.texas.gov
Track record — Women's Reproductive Rights
Women's Reproductive Rights · 1 oppose
As governor, signed Senate Bill 8, the Texas Heartbeat Act banning most abortions after about six weeks and allowing private citizens to sue those who assist an abortion, into law in May 2021.
May 19, 2021Opposes Women's Reproductive Rights
Source: texastribune.org
Track record — Civil Rights
Civil Rights · 4 oppose
Signed Senate Bill 14 on June 2, 2023, banning puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and transition surgeries for transgender minors.
June 2, 2023Opposes Civil Rights
Source: ksat.com
Directed the state child welfare agency (DFPS) on February 22, 2022, to investigate gender-transition medical treatments for minors as child abuse.
February 22, 2022Opposes Civil Rights
Source: gov.texas.gov
Signed Senate Bill 1 on September 7, 2021, an elections law that set uniform voting hours, banned drive-through voting, gave poll watchers more access, and banned sending unrequested mail-ballot applications.
September 7, 2021Opposes Civil Rights
Source: gov.texas.gov
Issued a proclamation on October 1, 2020, limiting each Texas county to one location for voters to hand-deliver mail ballots for the November 2020 election.
October 1, 2020Opposes Civil Rights
Source: fox7austin.com
Track record — Corporate Accountability
Corporate Accountability · 1 support
Signed Senate Bills 2 and 3 on June 8, 2021, after the February winter storm blackouts. The laws overhauled the power grid operator's board (ERCOT) and required power plants and gas facilities to weatherize, with fines up to $1 million.
June 8, 2021Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: gov.texas.gov
Track record — Public Infrastructure
Public Infrastructure · 1 support
Signed Senate Bills 2 and 3 on June 8, 2021, after the February winter storm blackouts. The laws overhauled the power grid operator's board (ERCOT) and required power plants and gas facilities to weatherize, with fines up to $1 million.
June 8, 2021Supports Public Infrastructure
Source: gov.texas.gov
Track record — General
General · 13 records
Received President Donald Trump's endorsement for re-election as governor on November 11, 2025.
November 11, 2025
Source: texastribune.org
Signed House Bill 4 on August 29, 2025, a mid-decade redraw of Texas congressional districts designed to give Republicans up to five more U.S. House seats.
August 29, 2025
Source: texastribune.org
Filed an emergency petition with the Texas Supreme Court on August 5, 2025, seeking to remove House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu from office after Democrats left the state to block redistricting.
August 5, 2025
Source: gov.texas.gov
Vetoed Senate Bill 3 on June 22, 2025, a ban on hemp products containing THC, and called a special session to regulate the products instead.
June 22, 2025
Source: tpr.org
Signed Senate Bill 10 on June 20, 2025, a law on displaying the Ten Commandments in Texas public school classrooms.
June 20, 2025
Source: capitol.texas.gov
Granted a full pardon on May 16, 2024, to Daniel Perry, a former Army sergeant convicted of murdering protester Garrett Foster in Austin in 2020, after the parole board recommended it.
May 16, 2024
Source: gov.texas.gov
Endorsed Hillary Hickland on November 28, 2023, in her primary challenge to Republican Rep. Hugh Shine, one of 21 House Republicans who voted to strip school vouchers from a bill.
November 28, 2023
Source: ksat.com
Signed Senate Bill 17 in June 2023, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs at Texas public colleges and universities.
June 17, 2023
Source: jurist.org
Vetoed the section of the state budget that funds the Texas Legislature and its staff (Article X) on June 18, 2021, after House Democrats walked out to block his elections bill.
June 18, 2021
Source: texastribune.org
Named a 41-member task force in April 2020 to advise him on reopening the economy during COVID-19. A Texas Tribune analysis found 27 members had given his campaign just over $6 million since 2015.
April 21, 2020
Source: texastribune.org
Was elected chair of the Republican Governors Association by fellow Republican governors on November 21, 2019, for the 2020 election cycle.
November 21, 2019
Source: wlrn.org
Unveiled his "Texas Plan" on January 8, 2016, proposing nine amendments to the U.S. Constitution to limit federal power, to be adopted through a convention of states.
January 8, 2016
Source: gov.texas.gov
As Texas Attorney General, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 2, 2005, defending the Ten Commandments monument on the Texas Capitol grounds (Van Orden v. Perry).
March 2, 2005
Source: supremecourt.gov
Past race Greg Abbott ran in:
- Governor · November 3, 2026 · Texas · incumbent