Abbott is on track to becoming Texas’ second-longest-serving governor, behind Rick Perry, who served more than 14 years. Abbott enters his third term after a decisive reelection win in November.

Here’s a rundown of how a bill becomes a law, how the Texas Legislature works and the power players who keep things moving under the Pink Dome.

In a press call Monday, O’Rourke’s team reflected on its failures during the election, but said Gov. Greg Abbott had the advantage with his ability to attract media attention and rely on” established narratives” that historically favor Republicans.

He has been the Texas Democratic Party’s great hope. But after failed runs for senator, president and governor, observers wonder if he has a political future.

The governor prevailed after a tumultuous period that included the pandemic, a statewide blackout, restrictions on voting and abortion and the Uvalde school shooting.

O’Rourke has not had the upper hand in any polls, or even come within low single digits, compared with 2018, when he more regularly showed up within the margin of error against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Democrats were in the minority the entire time O’Rourke was in Congress. He says that experience working across the aisle prepares him to be governor of a red state.

The Democratic challenger ended the latest fundraising period, July 1 through Sept. 29, with slightly more cash on hand than the governor.

His campaign said the massive amount came at a faster clip than his previous, record-breaking haul.

The Democratic nominee for governor said during The Texas Tribune Festival that he’s counting on a big turnout of voters energized by the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The latest survey also gave Republican incumbents single-digit leads in two other statewide races. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick led Democrat Mike Collier by 7 points, and Attorney General Ken Paxton registered a 5-point advantage over Democrat Rochelle Garza.

The sudden TV spending by Coulda Been Worse LLC comes as Abbott battles for a third term against Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke.

The expenditure, which the Democrat’s campaign announced Friday, comes as GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has dominated the airwaves for over two weeks.

O’Rourke wants more debates, but Abbott has indicated this is the only one he is willing to do before the November election.

The list of the Texas Future Project’s beneficiaries includes groups like Annie’s List and Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, which work to elect more Democratic women who support abortion rights.

O’Rourke confronted a heckler at a campaign event Wednesday who laughed while he was talking about the Uvalde school shooting, telling the person, “It may be funny to you, motherfucker, but it is not funny to me.”

The governor said Tuesday he has agreed to debate O’Rourke, his Democratic opponent, on Sept. 30 in the Rio Grande Valley.

Incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott entered this year with a much larger war chest and still has the financial upper hand in the race. He raised $24.9 over the same time period.

The Democratic gubernatorial challenger plans to hold 70 public events in more than 65 counties.

Abbott expanded on comments he made about how he wants to “resurrect” the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, which guaranteed that public schools would educate all students regardless of citizenship status.

The race will determine who finishes the term of former U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville.

K-3 teachers in Texas have until 2023 to complete a 60-hour Reading Academies course to keep the job. It’s taking some 120 hours on their own time to finish.

District Judge Amy Clark Meachum said the governor’s directive for the state child welfare agency to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children was “beyond the scope of his authority and unconstitutional.” The statewide injunction will remain in effect until the case is heard in July.

The issue is no longer contained to just the party’s fringes — and it is unlikely to go away any time soon as the national fervor grows, Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive faces legal challenges and it factors prominently into a slew of GOP primary runoffs.

Kelcy Warren, the Dallas pipeline tycoon and top donor to Gov. Greg Abbott, is suing O’Rourke over his criticism of the windfall profits that Warren’s company made after the 2021 winter storm.

It’s cutting time. Expect to see some political names you know among Tuesday’s primary election losers.

Former state Sen. Don Huffines and ex-Republican Party of Texas Chair Allen West have each made careers out of championing conservative values.

Abbott has moved right on abortion, guns and voting, and has Trump's endorsement. But for some Texans, that's not enough.

The two were neck and neck for the first 20 days of January, but Abbott has the advantage of a massive war chest that’s more than tenfold O’Rourke’s total cash on hand.

The latest fundraising figures in the governor’s race confirm what’s long been seen as the state of play: O’Rourke is a strong fundraiser, but Abbott, with over $65 million saved up, is on another level.

The Republican governor officially announced his reelection campaign Saturday in McAllen, while likely Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke campaigned in El Paso.

The Texas 2022 primary will take place March 1. See the full list of candidates statewide and find out who's on your ballot based on where you live.

Abbott’s office says vaccines are the best defense to the pandemic, however, the governor has rarely spoken about vaccines in recent months other than to push back against mandates. He did not respond to a question about whether he got the booster.

The fight over race and how to deal with the pandemic has split the Fort Worth community, showcasing what’s being seen across the state and country.

Every statewide office, legislative seat and U.S. House district will be on the ballot next year when the state’s new political maps are expected to be used.

A Springtown man with the same name as the former governor filed Monday to run for the state's top post against Gov. Greg Abbott, raising the prospect of dirty political tricks.

The so-called “critical race theory” law prohibits teachers from discussing “a widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs.”

The actor said in a video Sunday that “political leadership” is a “path that I’m choosing not to take at this moment.”

O'Rourke faces an even more formidable fundraiser in Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. He had $55 million cash on hand at the end of June.

O’Rourke hit the campaign trail with a pitch narrowly focused on several issues that are largely popular with voters, leaving behind the more incendiary rhetoric from his presidential campaign.

While some universities in other states that hold federal contracts have mandated vaccines for all employees, many Texas universities, which collectively have billions in federal contracts, are still reviewing the executive order before it goes into effect Dec. 8.

Huffines has been the most vocal fellow Republican taking on Abbott, pressuring him over his COVID-19 response, the border and other hot-button issues.

A judge has yet to decide in the state's lawsuit against the district for defying the governor's executive order.

Gov. Greg Abbott must either approve or reject the parole board’s decision. The 2004 case involved a Houston officer later found to have lied to obtain a search warrant in a 2019 case.

Plaintiffs say the governor’s order denies children with disabilities, who are at a high risk of illness and death from the coronavirus, access to public education.

In a Texas Tribune Festival interview, the former member of Congress discussed the fight for voting rights, his takeaways from his last two runs for office and speculation about his becoming a candidate for governor.

The governor said Thursday the second special session will get underway at noon Saturday, with a 17-item agenda.

The move comes after bills to do so were unsuccessful during the regular legislative session — and after Abbott did not include them on his agenda for the ongoing special session.

Abbott’s campaign coffers hit the balance after he raised over $18.7 million during the last 10 days of June, his campaign announced Thursday. The campaign said the cash-on-hand total was larger “than any other statewide candidate in Texas history.”

In a new court filing, the attorney general's office said the governor properly used his veto power when he nixed funding for the Legislature in response to House Democrats walkout over a Republican priority bill on elections.

The governor said Texas needs to build a border wall to reduce migrant apprehensions and fentanyl seizures. But immigration and drug treatment experts say Abbott's oversimplifying the issue.

Miller is running for a third term.

“Whatever Beto decides to do is the domino that affects everybody," said Royce Brooks, executive director of Annie’s List, the Texas Democratic women-in-politics group.

O'Rourke has visited at least 19 cities this month and plans to hold a final rally Sunday at the Texas Capitol in Austin.

The governor said Wednesday he would add the issue to the agenda for an anticipated special session.

The governor's announcement Thursday that Texas would build its own border wall was Abbott's boldest move yet in an intensifying focus on the region.

The endorsement comes as Abbott faces a primary challenge from former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas and as other fellow Republicans eye the race.

"No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities," Abbott tweeted Monday.

The governor issued an executive order Tuesday banning government entities in Texas — like cities and counties — from requiring masks to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

State officials knew children were being illegally housed in an unlicensed facility but did not notify the court, despite a mandate from a federal court judge that came as part of a decade-long class action lawsuit against the state on the behalf of foster children.