Greg Abbott

Democratic Platform

Democrats support progressive taxation, with higher rates on top earners and corporations to fund public investment. The party favors raising the minimum wage, strengthening unions, and expanding worker protections. Democrats generally support government investment in infrastructure, education, and social programs as drivers of broad economic growth.

Greg Abbott

Governor Abbott has presided over significant economic growth in Texas, including major corporate relocations from higher-tax states. He supports low taxes, minimal regulation, and a business-friendly environment. He has promoted Texas as a destination for businesses seeking relief from what he characterizes as excessive regulation in California and other states.Source →

Republican Platform

Republicans favor lower taxes across income levels, with particular emphasis on cutting corporate and capital gains taxes to stimulate investment and job creation. The party supports deregulation, reduced government spending, and free market solutions over federal programs as the primary engine of prosperity.

Democratic Platform

Democrats support expanding access to affordable healthcare, including protecting the Affordable Care Act and moving toward a public option or expanded Medicare coverage. The party broadly favors government negotiation of prescription drug prices and opposes removing protections for pre-existing conditions.

Greg Abbott

Governor Abbott has opposed Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, leaving Texas as one of the largest states without expansion. He favors market-based healthcare reforms and state flexibility over federal mandates. After the Dobbs decision, Texas enacted strict abortion restrictions, which Abbott signed and defended.Source →

Republican Platform

Republicans have generally sought to repeal or significantly reform the Affordable Care Act, favoring market-based solutions. The party supports expanding health savings accounts, increasing competition among insurers across state lines, and reducing federal mandates on coverage requirements.

Democratic Platform

Democrats generally support pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including DACA recipients, and favor comprehensive immigration reform. The party supports increased resources for legal immigration processing and a humanitarian approach to asylum seekers at the border.

Greg Abbott

Governor Abbott has made border security the defining issue of his tenure, launching Operation Lone Star — a multi-billion-dollar state border security initiative — and busing migrants to New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. to highlight what he characterizes as federal failure on border enforcement. He has backed state immigration enforcement measures and called for completion of the southern border barrier.Source →

Republican Platform

Republicans prioritize border security and strict enforcement of existing immigration law. The party broadly supports completing physical border barriers, ending policies they view as incentivizing illegal entry, and reforming legal immigration to favor applicants with marketable skills.

Democratic Platform

Democrats favor robust federal investment in public K-12 education and higher education, along with policies to reduce or eliminate student loan debt. The party generally opposes using public funds for private school vouchers and supports universal pre-K and affordable childcare.

Greg Abbott

Governor Abbott signed landmark school choice legislation in Texas in 2023, establishing an education savings account program that allows families to use state funds for private school tuition and other educational expenses. He supports parental rights in education and has signed legislation restricting how race and gender topics can be taught in Texas schools.Source →

Republican Platform

Republicans support school choice, including voucher programs for private and religious schools, and local control over curriculum decisions. The party generally opposes federal education mandates and broadly supports parental rights in schooling. Many Republicans oppose student loan forgiveness as unfair to borrowers who repaid their loans.

Democratic Platform

Democrats broadly support stricter gun safety measures, including universal background checks, red flag laws, and restrictions on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. The party frames these regulations as consistent with the Second Amendment and necessary to reduce mass shootings.

Greg Abbott

Governor Abbott signed permitless carry legislation in Texas in 2021, allowing most Texans 21 and older to carry a handgun without a license or training. After the Uvalde school shooting, he increased school security funding but opposed new gun control legislation, arguing that mental health intervention and school safety hardening are the proper responses.Source →

Republican Platform

Republicans strongly defend Second Amendment rights and generally oppose new gun control legislation, arguing that existing laws should be enforced more effectively. The party emphasizes mental health intervention, the right to self-defense, and opposes what they view as infringement on law-abiding gun owners.

Democratic Platform

Democrats view climate change as an urgent crisis requiring immediate government action. The party supports transitioning to clean energy through federal investment and regulation, reducing carbon emissions across the economy, and meeting international climate commitments. Democrats generally oppose expanding fossil fuel development on public lands.

Greg Abbott

Governor Abbott strongly supports Texas's oil and gas industry and opposes federal climate regulations he argues harm the Texas economy and energy sector. He has signed legislation protecting Texas's fossil fuel industry from financial sector pressure and has backed the state's growing renewable energy sector — Texas leads the nation in wind energy — primarily as an economic rather than climate policy.Source →

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize American energy independence through domestic production of oil, gas, and coal alongside renewable development. Many in the party are skeptical of aggressive climate regulations they argue harm economic growth and jobs. Republicans generally prefer market-based energy solutions over government mandates and oppose restrictions that raise energy costs for families.

Democratic Platform

Democrats generally support a multilateral approach to foreign policy, emphasizing alliances, international institutions, and diplomacy as the first line of engagement. The party broadly supports maintaining NATO commitments, providing aid to democratic allies, and engaging international bodies to address shared challenges.

Greg Abbott

As governor of a major border and trade state, Abbott has engaged federal foreign policy debates primarily through their effects on Texas's substantial trade relationship with Mexico, the largest U.S. trading partner. He has backed federal policies that secure the southern border and has called for stronger international action against drug cartel activity.Source →

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize American sovereignty, a strong military as a deterrent, and bilateral relationships over multilateral institutions. The party broadly supports robust defense spending and is skeptical of international agreements they view as constraining American action or requiring open-ended foreign commitments.

Democratic Platform

Democrats oppose cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits and support expanding both programs. The party generally favors raising the Social Security payroll tax cap on high earners to ensure long-term solvency and opposes any form of privatization.

Greg Abbott

Governor Abbott has publicly opposed federal proposals that would cut Social Security or Medicare benefits for Texas seniors. At the state level, he has supported property tax relief measures that benefit fixed-income retirees in Texas's increasingly expensive urban markets.Source →

Republican Platform

Republicans support reforming Social Security and Medicare to ensure long-term fiscal solvency, which some in the party argue requires adjusting benefits or eligibility ages. The party opposes tax increases to fund the programs and some members have supported personal investment account options.

Democratic Platform

Democrats broadly support criminal justice reform, including reducing mandatory minimum sentences, addressing racial disparities in policing and incarceration, and investing in community-based alternatives. The party generally supports police accountability measures and evidence-based approaches to reducing recidivism.

Greg Abbott

Governor Abbott strongly supports law enforcement and has focused on combating violent crime, human trafficking, and drug trafficking — particularly fentanyl smuggled across the southern border — as Texas's primary criminal justice priorities. He signed legislation increasing penalties for fentanyl trafficking and has backed substantial increases in law enforcement funding.Source →

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize law and order, strong support for law enforcement, and tough penalties for crime. The party generally opposes reducing mandatory minimum sentences for violent offenses and supports prosecutors pursuing strong sentences. Republicans broadly oppose policies they view as undermining police authority or creating leniency for criminals.