Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick show no sign of relinquishing power in Texas

Governor Greg Abbott talks with Texas Law Federalist Society President Jordan Lamb, right, in the Eidman Courtroom at the University of Texas Law School on Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Mikala Compton/American-Statesman

Once upon a time in Texas politics, one or more of the top statewide elected officials would decide not to run for reelection to seek a higher office.

That would set off a mushrooming scramble of other statewide officeholders who were down the food chain to forgo reelection for a chance to win a higher prize. Another scramble would follow as even lower-level leaders would step forward to compete for those newly created vacancies.

The process assured that ambitious up-and-coming politicians would always have their antennas up for new opportunities. That meant consultants and image-makers were always on the prowl to sign up new talent, and would-be campaign donors would have to gauge which candidates would be worth investing in and which ones would have to go begging.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, left, and Gov. Greg Abbott have served in office together since first taking office after the 2014 election.

Austin American-Statesman

Reporters in the Capitol press corps would always be scrounging for intel so they could be first to break the news that this candidate had just hired that consultant to test the waters to determine which of the statewide offices were the most influential, or at least the most winnable.

Such freewheeling jockeying seldom happens in the modern era of Texas politics. Consider that only once since 1990 were the offices for governor and lieutenant governor open at the same time. And never since the 1990 election were the offices of governor, attorney general and comptroller all open at the same time.

And less than a year before the coming March primaries, the 2026 political landscape is shaping up to look a lot like nearly all the others over the past three dozen years.

First, let's show our homework to prove the previous statements. In 1990, both Gov. Bill Clements and Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby opted to retire from politics.

Attorney General Jim Mattox decided to make an ill-fated run for the Democratic nomination for governor rather than to seek a third term. Four-term Comptroller Bob Bullock ran for lieutenant governor and won. And an otherwise obscure state representative named Dan Morales was elected attorney general.

It wasn't until 2014 that Texas would see an open race for governor. Greg Abbott won the governor's office after deciding not to seek reelection for attorney general. Ken Paxton, then a state senator, won Abbott's old job.

The sitting lieutenant governor, David Dewhurst, did seek reelection but lost the Republican primary to Dan Patrick, who had also been a state senator. Not only did Patrick take down Dewhurst, he beat two other statewide officeholders who had also challenged the incumbent.

The successful 2018 GOP statewide ticket was pretty much a carbon copy of the one four years earlier. And 2022 was pretty darn close to a three-peat. The exception was the race for land commissioner because incumbent George P. Bush made the mistake of challenging Paxton in the primary.

At least in theory, 2026 could have shaped up as the watershed election cycles of 1990 and 2014. After all, Paxton's office will be open because he has decided to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary. And three-term Comptroller Glenn Hegar is stepping down this summer to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.

Now look at the top of the ticket. Abbott and Patrick are both in the home stretch of their third terms and both are Medicare-eligible. Given that Abbott is 67 and Patrick just turned 75, it wouldn't be terribly surprising if one or both decided to retire and make way for someone new.

But both are running for reelection. That means Texas politicians whose faces today are as fresh as those of Abbott and Patrick were coming up on 12 years ago might have to wait a little longer before they'll see an open field in which to run.

This story has been updated to add a gallery.

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