# Greg Abbott Republican Governor of Texas since January 2015 — the longest-serving governor in Texas history at his current tenure, and as of 2026 the most consequential governor in the country on immigration enforcement and mid-decade redistricting. Former Texas Attorney General (2002–2015) and former Justice of the Texas Supreme Court (1995–2001). Paralyzed from the waist down since 1984 after an oak tree fell on him while jogging in Houston; uses a wheelchair. ## 2025 mid-decade redistricting In July 2025 Abbott added congressional redistricting to a Texas special session at the direct public urging of [[Donald Trump]], who told associates Texas could deliver "five more seats" before the 2026 midterms. After Texas House Democrats broke quorum to Illinois and New York to deny a vote, Abbott pursued a second special session; Democrats returned 2025-08-18 once California announced its counter-redraw (Prop 50). The map passed the Texas House 88–52 on 2025-08-20 (party-line) and Abbott signed it 2025-08-29, posting a celebratory video declaring Texas "now more red in the United States Congress." The map flipped the projected Texas U.S. House delegation from **25R-13D to 30R-8D** by targeting five Coalition Districts (majority-minority districts). LULAC, the [[NAACP Legal Defense Fund]], and other groups challenged the map on racial-gerrymandering grounds; SCOTUS ultimately upheld it 6–3 on 2026-04-27. See [[Redistricting Timeline 2025-2026]]. ## Border and immigration Abbott has run the most aggressive state-level immigration enforcement program in the country since launching Operation Lone Star in March 2021. Operation Lone Star has spent over $11B in state funds on border deployments, razor-wire installations, the floating Rio Grande buoy barrier, and inter-state migrant busing programs to Democratic-led cities. Abbott was a primary state-level political ally of Trump's January 2025 border emergency declarations. ## 2022 reelection and 2026 outlook Abbott won a third term in 2022 with 54.8% of the vote, defeating [[Beto O'Rourke]] by ~11 points. He has not declared 2026 plans (he would be eligible for a fourth term), and is widely speculated about as a 2028 presidential or vice-presidential possibility. ## Related - [[Donald Trump]] — political alliance; Abbott's 2025 redistricting move was at Trump's direct public urging - [[Ken Paxton]] — Texas AG and 2026 Cornyn primary challenger; Abbott has not endorsed in the runoff - [[TX-Sen-2026]] — the 2026 Senate runoff plays out under the new Abbott map - [[Redistricting Timeline 2025-2026]] — Texas-specific entries