Three candidates are running for Texas governor in the upcoming Nov. 3 election.
The big picture
Democrat Gina Hinojosa, an Austin state representative, and Libertarian Pat Dixon, a professional engineer, are challenging Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, who is seeking a fourth term in the governor's mansion. As Texas’ top elected official, the governor signs and vetoes legislation, serves as commander-in-chief of the state military and appoints members of state agencies or advisory boards.
Abbott beat 10 Republican challengers in the March primary election, while Hinojosa beat eight other Democratic candidates to advance to the November election. Dixon was selected as the Texas Libertarian Party's candidate during an April nominating convention.
Write-in candidates may also appear on the ballot, although Community Impact does not send questionnaires to write-in candidates.
Preparing for the polls
Early voting runs from Oct. 19-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3. In addition to eight statewide races, the following state-level seats are up for election this fall:
- 38 U.S. House seats (by congressional district)
- Four seats on the Texas Supreme Court (statewide)
- Three seats on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (statewide)
- Three seats on Texas' 15th Court of Appeals (statewide)
- 16 state Senate seats (by legislative district)
- 150 state House seats (by legislative district)
- Eight State Board of Education seats (by SBOE district)
For more coverage of local and state races, visit communityimpact.com/election.
Zooming in
Community Impact's goal with election Q&As is to provide a side-by-side, equitable resource for Texas voters to review candidates' perspectives before they head to the polls.
To ensure that candidates are the ones defining their positions, if candidates did not complete the questionnaire after multiple attempts to contact them, Community Impact's website reads "candidate did not respond to questionnaire before press time." Candidates were informed of this policy.
Candidates were asked to keep responses under 50 words, answer the questions provided and avoid attacking opponents. Answers may have been minimally edited or cut to adhere to those guidelines, or for style and clarity.
*indicates incumbent candidate
