Houston, Texas - Republican Greg Abbott on Sunday announced that he is running in 2026 for a fourth term as governor of Texas.

"Tonight, we have a message for Democrats and their socialist backers: This is Texas," Abbott said during an event in Houston.

"We will defend our culture. We will safeguard our Texas values from the radicals who are trying to shove Texas to the far progressive left."

Abbott is already the longest-serving incumbent governor in the US. The 67-year-old is running for his fourth four-year term in a state without term limits.

During his remarks in Houston, Abbott announced his intent to secure lower property taxes for Texans and to put to a vote a constitutional amendment on abolishing school district property taxes.

"We are turn the tables on local taxing authorities and put the power with the people," he said.

The governor also touted his prior efforts to ban "DEI" in education, referring to Black, brown, and LGBTQ+ history and representation, and to bar transgender women and girls from playing on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity.

Abbott also bragged that Texas is the "only state in American history to build our own border wall."

He claimed that "everything Texas is doing is just common sense," warning supporters that "it can all be destroyed in one bad election."

One day before Abbott's reelection announcement, California Governor Gavin Newsom rallied in Houston to uplift Democratic efforts to counter Republican gerrymandering.

The Trump administration has pressured Republican-led states to redraw their electoral maps ahead of the midterm elections, in hopes of retaining a GOP majority in Congress' lower chamber.

Texas subsequently approved new maps designed to deliver five additional congressional seats to Republicans in 2026.

California fired back with its own proposed plan to counteract Republican gains in Texas by adding five Democratic seats. Golden State residents green-lighted the plan last week via the Proposition 50 ballot measure.

"You woke us up," Newsom said of Texas Democrats' fight against redistricting. "You didn’t just have your backs here, you had our backs in the state of California,"

"It's dawning on people, all across the United States of America, what's at stake," the governor told the crowd. "And you put a stake in the ground. People are showing up. I don’t believe in crowns, thrones. No kings."

Newsom's appearance in Texas has fueled speculation that he is considering running for president in 2028. The 58-year-old has said he is giving the matter "serious thought."

Meanwhile, several Democrats have already lined up in a bid to turn Texas blue. Gubernatorial primary candidates so far include State Representative Gina Hinojosa, businessman Andrew White, and rancher and retired firefighter Bobby Cole.