Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick win GOP primaries

Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick handily won their primaries Tuesday, both decisively beating several lesser-known Republican challengers to continue their reelection bids. 

“There are activists and liberal politicians who want to turn Texas into a socialist state with more government, more regulation and less freedom, and that will not happen on our watch,” Abbott said in a statement. “We are going to uphold the values our great state was built on, and we’re going to fight to keep Texas, Texas.”

Abbott and Patrick are both seeking their fourth four-year terms in their respective offices. Both remain formidable general election opponents, with plenty of campaign cash and broad support from the Republican base in hand. In 2022, Abbott beat former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke by over 10 percentage points, and Patrick also won reelection with a 10-point edge.

“Under my leadership, the Texas Senate has been the driving force for Texas becoming the most conservative state in the nation, and I will continue that push during my next term,” Patrick said in a statement, while urging Republican voters not to “rest on their laurels.”

On the Democratic side, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin captured the nomination to take on Abbott — and his $95.5 million war chest — in November, beating other Democratic candidates including former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell and rancher and retired firefighter Bobby Cole.

“Tonight, working Texans sent a clear message: they’re ready for change,” Hinojosa said in a statement. “From the Rio Grande Valley to East Texas, Texans are united behind one message: we must end the Greg Abbott Corruption Tax and make Texas an affordable place where people can thrive again.”

State Rep. Vikki Goodwin of Austin, meanwhile, was leading in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor over union leader Marcos Velez, who had emerged as a sleeper candidate in the race after indirectly receiving a wash of funding from Texas Majority PAC, the state party’s campaign partner.

In his reelection bid, Abbott has promised to further rein in property taxes and touted the conservative victories of his decade in office, framing his candidacy as a bulwark of “common sense in a country reeling from far-left, progressive insanity.” He has also vowed to spend big to flip Harris County, a Democratic stronghold.

Patrick is a leading conservative voice in Texas closely aligned with President Donald Trump. He has used his powerful perch atop the Texas Senate to infuse Christianity in public life, restrict abortion and immigration practices in the state, pursue sometimes contentious goals among Republicans like banning THC and bolstering the state’s film incentives program, and more.

Democrats have struggled to mount competitive statewide bids in recent years. But they’re are hoping that the U.S. Senate race — the highest-profile competition at the top of the ticket — will create a down-ballot boost for their side, including in the gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial contests. Hinojosa campaigned alongside both Democratic Senate candidates, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and state Rep. James Talarico of Austin, in the months leading up to Election Day, calling herself “Team Jasarico” as she worked to build support out of both of their camps. 

More broadly, Democrats see a chance to make inroads in Texas this election cycle, hoping that dissatisfaction with the Trump administration will drive turnout, in addition to a $30 million effort by the biggest Democratic groups in the state to coordinate campaign efforts and build longer-term infrastructure toward a blue Texas.

Hinojosa, a former school board president, made her focus on education issues in the Texas House, and opposing Abbott’s private school voucher program, the headline of her campaign. She also cast Abbott as beholden to his big-money donors at the expense of Texans.

Goodwin is running on public school funding, clean water and energy access, affordable housing and health care, with a focus on “returning sanity to Texas government and restoring a collaborative and cooperative spirit.”

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