Texas Governor Greg Abbott is making affordability a central part of his closing pitch to voters, touting his "most detailed plan" to save some households thousands of dollars during an interview with KBTX, as polls show his race against Democrat Gina Hinojosa has become highly competitive. The Republican governor, who is seeking a fourth term in November, has proposed an affordability package centered on cutting property taxes alongside measures addressing health care, insurance, college and housing costs. Abbott's campaign said its plan would cut the average homeowner's property tax bill by as much as 50 percent and save roughly $3,000 per year.
It also says a proposed Essential Health Benefits plan could reduce premiums by nearly 20 percent and save Texas families nearly $1,150, putting the potential combined savings from those two proposals alone at more than $4,000 for households able to benefit from both. "Texas families deserve to keep more of their hard-earned money," Abbott said while promoting the agenda in Pasadena in September. He said both reforms would collectively deliver "thousands of dollars in savings for Texans every year." According to his affordability agenda—aptly named The Abbott Affordability Agenda—his property-tax proposals include eliminating school property taxes for homeowners, imposing spending limits on local governments, requiring two-thirds voter approval for tax increases, and making property appraisals more predictable.
Abbott has already signed measures increasing the mandatory school district homestead exemption to $140,000, while raising the exemption for homeowners who are over 65 or disabled to $200,000. His office said in June 2025 that Texas had devoted $50 billion to property tax relief during that legislative session. The affordability push comes as polling suggests Abbott's contest with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa is far closer than his previous victories.
A YouGov survey conducted from September 28 to October 5 put Hinojosa at 48 percent and Abbott at 47 percent among likely voters, within the poll's three-point margin of error. But other recent polls have produced dramatically different results, with candidates alternating narrow leads. For example, the University of Texas' Texas Politics Project polling tracker shows a New York Times/Siena survey giving Hinojosa a three-point lead, while a Fox News poll conducted around the same period gave Abbott a five-point advantage.
RealClearPolling currently puts Abbott narrowly ahead in its average, 48.1 percent to 46.4 percent, a 1.7-point advantage. The numbers represent a sharp change from earlier in the campaign. The Texas Politics Project's tracker shows Abbott leading Hinojosa by seven points in its June University of Texas poll, while another June survey from the New York Times/Siena also gave the Republican a seven-point advantage.
Hinojosa is challenging Abbott on the same economic territory. Her campaign proposes sending every Texas household a one-time $1,500 "corruption tax refund." Hinojosa says she would ask the Legislature to use $17 billion from the state's Rainy Day Fund for the payments, leaving roughly $10 billion in the account. She is also proposing measures addressing grocery, electricity, health care and housing costs.
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