Will Texas Gov. Greg Abbott develop signature achievement during third term?

AUSTIN — Greg Abbott’s tenure as Texas governor has been highlighted by crises.

Since he took workplace in 2015, he’s needed to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 winter storm that killed 246 people, a number of mass shootings, together with the Uvalde massacre, and different emergencies difficult by political polarization.

“Right now his legacy is going to be that he’s a tested governor,” stated state Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano. “He has gone through significant disasters, pandemics, tragic shootings and all sorts of things. He’s come out stronger from it, and the state of Texas has come out stronger from all those challenges.”

But Abbott needs to be often known as greater than a disaster governor.

After he takes his oath of office Tuesday for a record-tying third four-year time period, he’ll provide his imaginative and prescient for Texas over the subsequent 4 years and past. His inaugural speech is anticipated to concentrate on holding Texas an financial powerhouse, whereas lowering the property tax burden for residents.

He’ll additionally focus on empowering mother and father to have a say of their youngsters’s schooling. And he’ll pledge to confront district attorneys from city counties that he’s labeled as rogue for implementing progressive felony justice insurance policies, corresponding to not prosecuting some low-level crimes.

“He’s going to be focused on the things he talked about last year, like real property tax reform, parental rights, including enabling parents to have a say in their child’s education,” stated Abbott’s chief political strategist Dave Carney during an interview final week with The Dallas Morning News.

“He’ll also deal with the ongoing crisis with the border and other things like fentanyl poisonings. And he’s dealing with the easy bail problem that we have in some of the bigger counties and bigger cities.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick may even be inaugurated for a third time period.

Unlike the beginning of his first two phrases, Abbott isn’t saddled with a right away disaster. And lawmakers have a close to $33 billion surplus, which the governor calls a “generational opportunity.”

“We are blessed with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put our state on a course of unassailable excellence for generations to come,” he stated final week as he addressed the Texas House.

Carney stated determining use the excess can be difficult.

“Everyone has a $32 billion spending plan and they aren’t always the same,” he stated. “But it’s a good problem to have and it does give us the opportunity to really think creatively outside the box about how to do it in a way that doesn’t squander it.”

While Abbott has been simply elected governor thrice, Democrats have a special view of his accomplishments. And they need the longtime governor to concentrate on nagging deficiencies, like bettering entry to well being care, the place Texas ranks close to the underside.

“I expect to hear pretty much what he talked about during his campaign, but we need more,” stated state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas. “He probably won’t address it, but we still need to expand Medicaid in the state of Texas.

“I want to also hear about what he is planning to do in terms of school safety. He’s got to deal with the issues concerning the grid, because the increased Texas population requires more energy.”

Democratic Party advisor Colin Strother predicted Abbott won’t provide dramatic coverage proposals.

“He’s based his entire career on inertia, and most of us are expecting him to double down on that and not break any new ground,” he stated. “You won’t hear him talk about fixing some of the problems with education funding and infrastructure that we’ve been dealing with for the past 35 years.”

Strother stated Abbott is trying past the legislative session and maybe at a run for president.

“From a political standpoint, it doesn’t make sense for Abbott to take big swings,” he stated. “What makes sense is for Abbott to look both ways, cross this road and very carefully and deliberately maintain his position and his trajectory for the Republican presidential primary.”

When requested if Abbott was excited about his legacy, Carney stated: “No.

“That will be in the fourth term,” he stated with a chuckle.

Elected governor after stints as legal professional basic and a Supreme Court justice, Abbott is likely one of the most achieved politicians in Texas historical past.

But with all his electoral success, he hasn’t developed daring or brash coverage agendas, analysts say.

In 2015, after beating former state Sen. Wendy Davis by 20 share factors, Abbott promised to work on points associated to transportation, water and schooling.

“As great as Texas is, there’s more we must do,” he stated. “More for the families stuck in traffic. More for parched towns thirsty for water. More for parents who fear their child is falling behind in school. More for employers searching for skilled workers. More for our veterans who return broken from battle.”

He additionally promised to “do more for the millions of Texans who are tired of seeing our state sovereignty and the rule of law ignored by a federal government that refuses to secure our border.”

In his 2019 inaugural address, Abbott once more insisted Texas leaders redouble their efforts to maneuver the state ahead.

“We can do more to educate the next generation and keep them safe at school,” he stated. “More to advance our universities to meet the changes sweeping the 21st century. More to rein in the property tax burden on our citizens.”

Many of these points stay priorities for Abbott, although Carney, his advisor, says quite a bit has been achieved in eight years, together with “more than doubling the Tier One research institutions in Texas,” certainly one of his early targets. Carney stated below Abbott’s watch there’s been extra funding for freeway transportation, instructor pay raises and extra money for public schooling, although Democrats say way more is required on these fronts.

“Texas has one of the highest graduation rates in the country for high school, and there’s a lot of things he’s done,” Carney stated. “There’s a lot of things he’s done that will be legacy-type things, but we’ve never had a conversation about that. He’s focused on what’s on the minds of Texans and what he’s going to do for them this session.”

But Democrats say Abbott ought to tackle not solely Medicaid growth, however increasing playing and medical marijuana use. Abbott is open to extra playing, as is House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont.

“Independent observers are going to be watching and waiting to see if he puts out any olive branches towards those two big issues,” Strother stated.

Shaheen, the Plano lawmaker, is bullish on Texas.

“We just have such an exciting future as a state,” Shaheen stated. “We’re developing the next generation and the next workforce. We have close to a $33 billion surplus. California has a deficit. Our future’s bright.”

Abbott’s third inaugural tackle happens as he’s change into a nationwide determine, notably along with his border safety coverage that’s included busing migrants to cities with Democratic Party management, together with Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

And he’s a Texas governor, which just about robotically places him within the dialog for the 2024 presidential election. The final two Texas governors — Rick Perry and George W. Bush — ran for president. Bush was elected in 2000, whereas Perry misplaced presidential bids in 2012 and 2016.

Former President Donald Trump has already introduced one other run for the White House. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, now a darling of nationwide conservatives, can be thought of a front-runner if he joined the GOP presidential major. The probably giant subject may embody former Vice President Mike Pence, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

“In the Texas Constitution somewhere, there’s something that says if you’re governor, you have to be considered in the presidential sweepstakes,” Carney joked.

He stated Abbott has been invited to occasions in early presidential contest states, however continues to politely ship regrets.

“He doesn’t want any distractions,” stated Carney, who didn’t rule out Abbott exploring 2024 presidential marketing campaign choices after the legislative session. “He’s focused on the legislative session.”

Republican advisor Vinny Minchillo, who labored on the presidential campaigns of Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, stated Abbott isn’t but talked about as a critical presidential contender.

“I am a little surprised that he does not get mentioned in the presidential sweepstakes,” he stated. “He’s definitely not a rock star politician and maybe that is by choice, so he’s really not in that conversation.”

Minchillo stated he anticipated Abbott to get pleasure from having a time period with out a right away disaster or threats of a major marketing campaign from rivals to his proper.

Rumors that Patrick would problem Abbott during a GOP major by no means grew to become reality. The governor’s 2022 reelection bid did obtain GOP opposition from former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas and former Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West. Abbott simply gained the GOP major and went on to beat Democrat Beto O’Rourke within the basic election.

“He doesn’t have the specter of Dan Patrick breathing down his neck threatening to primary him,” Minchillo stated. “That’s kind of gone. Now he can really run his own game. I expect to hear a lot about bread-and-butter issues. I expect to hear a lot about property taxes, and a lot about immigration.”

Minchillo stated Abbott’s inaugural speech isn’t a prelude to nationwide politics, however Texas historical past. If Abbott wins one other time period, he’ll have the prospect of being the longest serving governor in Texas historical past. Perry holds the file with 14 years as governor.

“Unless there’s some incredible change, I expect for him to run one more time,” he stated.