Greg Abbott

Greg Abbott

Republican Party

Governor of Texas

Tenure

2015 - Present

Term ends

2023

Years in position

5

Prior offices

Texas 129th District Court

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Texas Supreme Court Place 5

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Attorney General of Texas

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Report an officeholder change

Compensation

Base salary

$150,000

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 6, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

University of Texas, 1981

Law

Vanderbilt University, 1984

Personal

Religion

Christian: Catholic

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Twitter

Greg Abbott (Republican Party) is the Governor of Texas. He assumed office in 2015. His current term ends on January 17, 2023.

Abbott (Republican Party) ran for re-election for Governor of Texas. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Abbott previously served as the Attorney General of Texas. He was first elected to the post in 2002 following previous Attorney General John Cornyn's (R) election to the U.S. Senate. Abbott was re-elected in 2006 and 2010. He also served on the Texas Supreme Court from 1995 to 2001 after being appointed by former Gov. George W. Bush (R), and as a Texas State District judge in Harris County.

Abbott became paralyzed from the waist down when he was struck by a falling tree at age 26.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Greg Abbott is a native Texan, born in Wichita Falls and raised in Duncanville. He attended the University of Texas for his undergraduate degree in finance, and then proceeded to earn his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. After graduation in 1984, Abbott began a legal career in the private sector.

Abbott initially entered state politics in Houston, where he was selected to serve as a state trial judge on the 129th District Court for three years beginning in 1993. Following that he was appointed by then-Governor George W. Bush to the Texas State Supreme Court, and was subsequently elected to the post twice more—first in 1996 to a two-year term and then again in 1998 for a six-year term. During this period, Abbott returned to private practice as an attorney for the law firm of Bracewell and Patterson Limited Liability Partnership.

Education

• Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree in finance, University of Texas, (1981)
• Juris Doctorate degree, Vanderbilt University Law School (1984)

Political career

Governor of Texas (2015-present)

Abbott was first elected to the office in 2014. He was sworn into office on January 20, 2015, replacing predecessor Rick Perry (R).

As governor, he is a member of the National Governors Association, the Western Governors' Association, the Southern Governors' Association and the Republican Governors Association.

Texas Attorney General (2002-2015)

Abbott resigned from the State Supreme Court in 2001 to seek the open attorney general's seat up for election the next year. He was first voted to serve in the position in 2002 following the election of John Cornyn to the United States Senate, becoming only the second Republican to hold the office since Reconstruction. Abbott was re-elected as the 50th Attorney General of Texas in 2006 and 2010. Prior to his election as attorney general, Abbott served as a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court and as a State District Judge in Harris County.

Elections

2018

See also: Texas gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of Texas

Incumbent Greg Abbott defeated Lupe Valdez and Mark Tippetts in the general election for Governor of Texas on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Abbott (R)	55.8	4,656,196
		Lupe Valdez (D)	42.5	3,546,615
		Mark Tippetts (L)	1.7	140,632

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Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,343,443

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for Governor of Texas

Lupe Valdez defeated Andrew White in the Democratic primary runoff for Governor of Texas on May 22, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lupe Valdez	53.0	224,091
		Andrew White	47.0	198,407

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There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 422,498

Democratic election

Democratic primary for Governor of Texas

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Texas on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lupe Valdez	42.9	435,484
✔		Andrew White	27.4	278,333
		Cedric Davis	8.3	83,817
		Grady Yarbrough	5.4	54,372
		Jeffrey Payne	4.8	48,269
		Adrian Ocegueda	4.4	44,681
		Thomas Wakely	3.4	34,737
		James Clark	2.2	21,871
		Joe Mumbach	1.4	13,878

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There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,015,442

Republican election

Republican primary for Governor of Texas

Incumbent Greg Abbott defeated Barbara Krueger and Larry SECEDE Kilgore in the Republican primary for Governor of Texas on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Abbott	90.4	1,389,562
		Barbara Krueger	8.3	127,134
		Larry SECEDE Kilgore	1.3	20,384

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Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,537,080

2014

See also: Texas gubernatorial election, 2014

Abbott ran for Governor of Texas in the 2014 election. Abbott won the Republican nomination in the primary. Incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R) did not seek re-election. Abbott was endorsed by Empower Texans. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

Results

Primary election

Texas Gubernatorial Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Greg Abbott	91.5%	1,224,014
Lisa Fritsch	4.4%	59,221
Miriam Martinez	2.7%	35,585
SECEDE Kilgore	1.4%	19,055
Total Votes		1,337,875
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

General election

Governor of Texas, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Abbott	59.3%	2,796,547
	Democratic	Wendy Davis	38.9%	1,835,596
	Libertarian	Kathie Glass	1.4%	66,543
	Green	Brandon Parmer	0.4%	18,520
	Write-in	Sarah Pavitt	0%	1,062
Total Votes				4,718,268
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Endorsements

• Texas Right to Life PAC
• Dallas Police Association
• Houston Police Officer's Union
• Department of Public Safety Officers Association
• Texas Municipal Police Association

Greg Abbott for Attorney General Campaign logo

2010

See also: Texas Attorney General election, 2010

• 2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary

• Greg Abbott ran unopposed in this contest

Texas Attorney General, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Abbott Incumbent	64.1%	3,151,064
	Democratic	Barbara Ann Radnofsky	33.7%	1,655,859
	Libertarian	Jon Roland	2.3%	112,118
Total Votes				4,919,041
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

2006

• 2006 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary

• Greg Abbott ran unopposed in this contest

On November 7, 2006, Greg Abbott won re-election to the office of Texas Attorney General. He defeated David Van Os (D) and Jon Roland (L) in the general election.

Texas Attorney General, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Abbott Incumbent	59.5%	2,556,063
	Democratic	David Van Os	37.2%	1,599,069
	Libertarian	Jon Roland	3.3%	139,668
Total Votes				4,294,800
Election results via Texas Secretary of State.

2002

• 2002 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary

• Greg Abbott ran unopposed in this contest

Texas Attorney General, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Abbott Incumbent	56.7%	2,542,184
	Democratic	Kirk Watson	41.1%	1,841,359
	Libertarian	Jon Roland	1.3%	56,880
	Green	David Keith Cobb	0.9%	41,560
Total Votes				4,481,983
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Presidential preference

2016 presidential endorsement

✓ Abbott endorsed Ted Cruz for the Republican primary in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

See also: Endorsements for Ted Cruz

Noteworthy events

As governor

Involvement in 2018 Republican state legislative primaries

Abbott sought to unseat three incumbent Republican legislators who opposed his policies in the March 6 primaries.

Republican state Reps. Sarah Davis, Wayne Faircloth, and Lyle Larson clashed with Abbott over ethics legislation, including a Larson-backed proposal to make campaign donors who gave more than $2,500 to the governor ineligible for gubernatorial appointments.

The three were also allies of retiring House Speaker Joe Straus (R), who came into conflict with Abbott over property tax legislation, a measure to regulate bathroom usage, and an education reform bill in the 2017 special legislative session.

Abbott ran a TV ad in Larson’s district that called the incumbent “Liberal Lyle.” Abbott also spent $161,000 on advertising in Davis' district, including an attack ad against her.

"If the three House primary challengers Gov. Greg Abbott has endorsed lose their races on March 6, it won't be for a lack of trying on the governor's part," The Texas Tribune's Patrick Svitek said.

Abbott went 1-2 on election night, with Davis and Larson winning their primaries and Faircloth losing to challenger Mayes Middleton, 43 percent to 57 percent.

Abbott called for party unity in the primary aftermath, saying, "Now that we turn the corner and head toward November, it's important that Republicans come together. Sure we may have differences in our family. But we are one family in the Republican Party."

Stance on Syrian refugee resettlement

Main article: U.S. governors and their responses to Syrian refugees

After the attacks in Paris, France, on November 13, 2015, many U.S. governors declared their support or opposition to Syrian refugee resettlement in their states. Abbott expressed opposition to the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state of Texas. In a letter sent to the president, he wrote:

“	Given the tragic attack in Paris and the threats we have already seen in Texas, coupled with the FBI director's acknowledgment that we do not have the information necessary to effectively vet Syrian nationals, Texas cannot participate in any program that will result in Syrian refugees -- any one of whom could be connected to terrorism -- being resettled in Texas.	”
—Greg Abbott

As state attorney general

Sanctuary city letter

Abbott wrote a letter in 2015 to Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez criticizing Valdez' immigrant detention policy and calling for a law targeting cities that ban police from asking about a person's immigration status.

His letter read, in part,

“	"Sanctuary City" policies like those promoted by your recent decision to implement your own case-by-case immigrant detention plan will no longer be tolerated in Texas. Your decision to not fully honor ICE’s requests to detain criminal immigrants poses a serious danger to Texans. These detainers provide ICE with the critical notice and time it needs to take incarcerated immigrants into federal custody.	”
—Greg Abbott,

Texas Voter ID law

When the Supreme Court overturned a section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act on July 25, 2013, a Texas Voter ID law that had been federally denied went into effect. Abbott led the push for the law after launching an investigation into voter fraud in Texas.

Texas' photo ID law, SB14, previously required pre-clearance by the USDOJ before going into effect which was denied on March 13, 2012. On August 30, 2012, a three-judge panel in United States District Court for the District of Columbia unanimously struck down the Texas photo voter identification law. The court ruled that the law would hurt minority voter turnout and impose strict burdens on the poor.

Following the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act in 2013, SB 14 went into effect. The law faced legal challenges and was blocked during the 2016 elections. In April 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled to allow the state to enact a modified version of the voter ID law that allows people to vote by signing a declaration if they do not have a photo ID.

Domestic partner benefits opinion

On April 29, 2013, Abbott issued a legal opinion stating that domestic partner benefits offered by the city of Austin, Travis County, and area school districts are illegal under the Texas Constitution. Texas voters approved the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages or similar legal statuses in 2005. According to Abbott's opinion, “By creating domestic partnerships and offering health benefits based on them, the political subdivisions have created and recognized something not established by Texas law.”

The U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges struck down same-sex marriage bans.

Affordable Care Act lawsuit

See also: State Attorneys General Against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

Abbott was one of 13 state attorneys general who initiated a 2010 lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The suit argued that the individual mandate fell outside of the federal government’s authority and that the requirement for state Medicaid expansion of coverage violated state sovereignty. The case was ultimately heard before the Supreme Court, which ruled to uphold the individual mandate as falling within Congress’ authority to levy taxes and struck down the Medicaid expansion as being unduly coercive in light of the withholding of funding that would result from noncompliance.

EPA lawsuit

Abbott filed suit in federal court on February 16, 2010, to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from instituting regulation of greenhouse gases. The decision by the EPA to moderate the release of greenhouse gases was based on a review that declared carbon dioxide a danger to public health, saying it contributes to global warming. Abbott, in conjunction with Governor Rick Perry, objected to the move, arguing that it would place a financial burden on state businesses and homeowners and that it would jeopardize jobs. Both state officials believed that the finding was based on faulty science. The D.C. Circuit Court ruled in favor of the EPA in 2012.

Ten Commandments monument case: Van Orden v. Perry (2005)

In 2002, Thomas Van Orden, a resident of Austin, sued the state of Texas in federal district court over a monument of the Ten Commandments located on the grounds of the state capitol building. He believed this to be a violation of "the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits the government from passing laws 'respecting an establishment of religion.'" The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit disagreed, ruling a year later that the "monument served a valid secular purpose and would not appear to a reasonable observer to represent a government endorsement of religion." Van Orden appealed the decision and on October 12, 2004, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear the case. Attorney General of Texas Greg Abbott appeared before the high court on March 2, 2005, defending the state's Ten Commandments monument, arguing that the grounds surrounding the capitol building contained 17 monuments and 21 historical markers commemorating the "people, ideals, and events that compose Texan identity" and that the Commandments were just one of them.

In a five-to-four decision delivered on June 27, 2005, the opinion of the Supreme Court, delivered by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, "deemed the Texas monument part of the nation's tradition of recognizing the Ten Commandments' historical meaning" and therefore was constitutional. Even though the Ten Commandments are of a religious nature, simply having religious content or promoting a message in line with religious teachings, the court stated, "does not run afoul of the establishment clause."

Justice Stephen Breyer, who served as the swing vote in the case, wrote: "The circumstances surrounding the monument's placement on the capitol grounds and its physical setting provide a strong, but not conclusive, indication that the Commandments' text as used on this monument conveys a predominantly secular message … The determinative factor here, however, is that 40 years passed in which the monument's presence, legally speaking, went unchallenged ... Those 40 years suggest more strongly than can any set of formulaic tests that few individuals ... are likely to have understood the monument as amounting ... to a government effort to establish religion."

Hailing the Supreme Court's decision, Abbott said, "This is a great victory not just for Texans, but for all Americans. With this ruling, the United States Supreme Court has delivered a clear message that the Texas Ten Commandments can be displayed on public grounds in recognition of the historical role they have played in the foundation of this country and its laws."

Creation of sex crime task forces

In 2003, Abbott created the Cyber Crimes Unit to find and arrest those using the internet to commit sex crimes involving children. Abbott also established the Fugitive Unit with the purpose of finding and arresting those violating parole whose convictions involve a sex crime against a child.

Campaign donors

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Greg Abbott campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2014	TX Governor		$47,464,245
2010	TX Attorney General		$9,794,870
2006	TX Attorney General		$10,196,519
2002	TX Attorney General		$8,582,552
1998	TX Supreme Court		$1,377,317
1996	TX Supreme Court		$688,318
Grand total raised			$78,103,821
Source: Follow the Money

2002-2014

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported Greg Abbott. Click [show] for more information.

Greg Abbott Campaign Contributions
	2014 Governor of Texas		2010 Attorney General of Texas		2006 Attorney General of Texas		2002 Attorney General of Texas
Total raised	$47,464,245		$9,794,870		$10,196,519		$8,582,552
Total raised by opponents	$4,034,095 (D)		$1,135,031		$211,584		$5,381,746
Top 5 contributors	Harold Clark Simmons	$900,000	Bob and Doylene Perry	$150,000 each	Bob Perry	$220,265	Greg Abbott	$675,000
	Syed Javaid Anwar	$528,942	Kenny Troutt and Harold Simmons	$125,000 each	Stevan Hammond	$150,000	Bob Perry	$387,000
	Nancy & Marcus D. Hiles	$525,000	Republican State Leadership Committee L. Simmons Stevan Hammond	$100,000 each	Boone Pickens, Jr.	$112,674	Texans for Lawsuit Reform	$350,000
	Mary & Robert Albritton	$500,000	Q Investments	$70,000	John Nau, III	$107,048	Albert Huddleston	$175,000
	Kelcy Lee Warren	$455,000	Dan Duncan	$56,472	Republican State Leadership Committee and 3 individual donors	$100,000 each	Kenny Troutt	$175,000
Individuals	$39,070,700		$4,213,173		$4,764,098		$5,631,485
Institutions	$8,393,545		$1,600,299		$2,039,559		$2,057,241
In-state donations	$39,712,091		$5,444,351		$6,455,557		$8,319,169
Out-of-state donations	$2,961,137 ($4,791,017 unknown)		$383,989		$399,926		$263,383

2016 Republican National Convention

See also: Republican National Convention, 2016

Greg Abbott
Republican National Convention, 2016
Status:	At-large delegate
State:	Texas
Bound to:	Ted Cruz
Delegates to the RNC 2016
Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • Delegate rules by state • State election law and delegates • Delegates by state

Abbott was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Texas. Abbott was one of 104 delegates from Texas bound by state party rules to support Ted Cruz at the convention. Cruz suspended his campaign on May 3, 2016. At the time, he had approximately 546 bound delegates. For more on what happened to his delegates, see this page.

Delegate rules

See also: RNC delegate guidelines from Texas, 2016 and Republican delegates from Texas, 2016

At-large delegates from Texas to the national convention were selected by a state nominations committee and approved by the Texas State GOP Convention in May 2016. District-level delegates were elected by congressional districts at the state convention and then approved by the convention as a whole. At the national convention, all delegates were bound on the first ballot unless their candidate withdrew from the race or released his or her delegates. A delegate remained bound on the second ballot if his or her candidate received at least 20 percent of the total vote on the first ballot. On the third and subsequent ballots, all delegates were to become unbound.

Texas primary results

See also: Presidential election in Texas, 2016

Texas Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Jeb Bush	1.2%	35,420	0
Ben Carson	4.2%	117,969	0
Chris Christie	0.1%	3,448	0
Ted Cruz	43.8%	1,241,118	104
Carly Fiorina	0.1%	3,247	0
Lindsey Graham	0.1%	1,706	0
Elizabeth Gray	0.2%	5,449	0
Mike Huckabee	0.2%	6,226	0
John Kasich	4.2%	120,473	0
Rand Paul	0.3%	8,000	0
Marco Rubio	17.7%	503,055	3
Rick Santorum	0.1%	2,006	0
Donald Trump	26.8%	758,762	48
Other	1%	29,609	0
Totals		2,836,488	155
Source: Texas Secretary of State and CNN

Delegate allocation

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

Texas had 155 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 108 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's 36 congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 20 percent of the primary vote in a district in order to be eligible to receive any of that district's delegates. If only one candidate met the 20 percent threshold in a district, he or she won all of the district's delegates. If two candidates met this threshold, the first place finisher received two of the district's delegates; the second place finisher received the remaining delegate. If no candidate won 20 percent of the vote, the top three finishers in a district each received one of the district's delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in a district, he or she received all of the district's delegates.

Of the remaining 47 delegates, 44 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 20 percent of the statewide primary vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the state's at-large delegates. If only one candidate broke the 20 percent threshold, the second place finisher still received a portion of the state's at-large delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the statewide vote, he or she received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Ballot measure activity

The following table details Greg Abbott's ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:

Ballot measure support and opposition for Greg Abbott
Ballot measure	Year	Position	Status
Texas Proposition 4: Prohibit State Income Tax on Individuals	2019	Supported	Approved a
Texas Proposition 1: Homestead Exemption for School District Property Taxes	2015	Supported	Approved a
Texas Proposition 2: Property Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Disabled Veterans	2015	Supported	Approved a
Texas Proposition 6: Right to Hunt, Fish and Harvest	2015	Supported	Approved a
Texas Proposition 7: Sales and Use Tax Revenue for Transportation	2015	Supported	Approved a
Texas Proposition 6: State Water Fund	2013	Supported	Approved a

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Abbott and his wife Cecilia have one daughter. Abbott was struck by a falling tree while jogging shortly after finishing law school and is partially paralyzed. He uses a wheelchair.

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Governor of Texas office website
• Official Attorney General of Texas website
• Greg Abbott's Facebook page
• Greg Abbott's Twitter account
• Project Vote Smart - Greg Abbott biography
• Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 1998, 1996

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Rick Perry (R)	Governor of Texas 2015-present	Succeeded by NA
Preceded by John Cornyn (R)	Attorney General of Texas 2002-2015	Succeeded by Ken Paxton (R)