Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced his reelection bid Sunday night in Houston with a speech that cast him as a successful three-term governor hoping to “keep Texas the best state in America.” The governor touted his wins over the past three terms, including his school voucher plan, while announcing a hefty slate of new policy goals, including bail reform, affordability, and the elimination, rather than lowering, of property taxes.

On Nov. 4, Texas voters approved all 17 constitutional amendments on the ballot, including several meant to lower property taxes. Abbott promised not only to reduce but also completely eliminate property taxes in his fourth term through five new policy proposals unveiled Sunday.

“Local governments are hiking your property taxes incessantly,” Abbott said. “It’s time to drive a stake through the heart of local property tax hikes for good.”

In a stark departure from his words earlier this year about fully funding public schools alongside his school voucher program, Abbott targeted the spending of school districts and local governments, suggesting they should “have to live within their means” just as individual homeowners have to.

Abbott also proposed that all property tax increases should require the approval of two-thirds of Texans, a move that would likely end any future tax increases in the state. Some Texas voters have been more hesitant to give approval to measures such as school bonds in recent years as the Legislature has passed bills aimed at bond elections and the political rhetoric around district spending has increased.

Abbott also proposed allowing voters the opportunity to vote to roll back property tax rates and additionally suggested that appraisals should only take place once every five years and that appraisal caps should be lowered from 10% to 3%. Finally, he proposed a constitutional amendment abolishing school district property taxes.

“We’re going to turn the tables on local taxing authorities and put the power with the people,” Abbott declared.

Noticeably absent from Abbott’s comments was any plan to help local taxing entities, such as school districts, recoup the funds that would be lost from his proposals. Abbott did not mention anything in the speech about increasing state funding for public education.

Districts across the state have been dealing with deficit budgets for years, following Abbott’s refusal to fund public schools in 2023 unless the Legislature passed his voucher proposal. While the money in House Bill (HB) 2 passed during the 2025 regular session, helped bridge some gaps in funding, the bill is very prescriptive in where the money should go and included very little funding to the Basic Allotment, which would have allowed districts more discretion in use of funds. Many districts have had to face tough choices, including laying off staff, cutting student programs, and even closing schools, even while receiving the funds from HB 2.

Abbott also failed to recognize that of Texas’ two main revenue sources, state sales tax and local property tax, property tax is already the source much closer to and more controlled by local voters. As other state leaders have recently mentioned, property tax relief is already the single biggest line item in the Texas budget at more than $50 billion. Fully replacing property taxes with sales taxes would add tens of billions, if not more than $100 billion, to the state budget—far in excess of current sale tax collections—and would significantly shift the tax burden from higher wealth to lower/moderate wealth Texans.

Abbott is facing several challengers in his bid for reelection, including Republicans Pete Chambers and Ronnie Tullos and Democrats Andrew White, Gina Hinojosa, and Bobby Cole. He enters the race with approximately $85 million in his campaign war chest, an amount that will be difficult for his challengers to overcome. The Texas primaries will be held March 3, 2026.