Gov. Greg Abbott stirs talk of 2024 run as special session of TX legislature tackles voting limits, other GOP priorities

This week's special session of the Texas legislature is putting a spotlight on some of the most contentious issues on the Republican policy agenda, including sweeping changes to voting, new abortion restrictions and limits on transgender athletes' sports participation.

It's also raising questions about the political aspirations of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seen as a possible 2024 presidential contender.   

Abbott called for the special session after lawmakers failed to pass bills during the 87th legislative session that were a priority for him and other conservative leaders. 

A day before the start of the special session, Abbott unveiled 11 issues lawmakers will tackle during the 30-day maximum period.

"The 87th Legislative Session was a monumental success for the people of Texas, but we have unfinished business to ensure that Texas remains the most exceptional state in America,” Abbott said in a statement. 

Political analysts say Abbott's political future is at the forefront of his legislative agenda, which includes several red-hot priorities for the GOP. Abbott is trying ramp up his conservative credentials by focusing on issues such as opposition to critical race theory to fire up the right-wing base of the Republican Party during next year's gubernatorial race and a potential 2024 White House bid. 

Why is Abbott convening a special session?

Texas is one of only four states that has biennial legislative sessions, meaning its lawmakers meet just every other year to pass legislation. The only way to make laws outside those regular sessions is to call a special session. 

"That's unlike the case in most other states where you have regular legislative sessions, so this never becomes an issue," said Mark Jones of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. "It's one thing to have a special session when your next regular session is three months away. The next regular session in Texas when the legislature could actually do something starts January of 2023.

“One of the advantages in Texas is the governor has the ability to call special sessions and determine what's on the agenda," Jones added. "A disadvantage, though, is that anything the governor leaves off the agenda can be interpreted as not a top priority.” 

Chief among the special session measures is an election security bill that sparked national headlines in May, when House Democrats broke quorum and walked out of the Capitol to prevent voting on Senate Bill 7. In retaliation, Abbott vetoed funding for lawmakers' salaries in the state budget. 

SB 7 would have included provisions to ban 24-hour and drive-thru voting, disproportionately affecting people of color, Democrats said. Two measures singled out as particularly controversial were language allowing a court to void an election if there were enough fraudulent votes to change the outcome and an effort to limit hours on Sunday voting. 

Republicans have signaled they are backing away from these measures, with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tweeting, "The Senate did not change Sunday Voting Hours in #SB7 or add wording to overturn elections. Neither will be in Special Election bill."

Beyond voting rights, lawmakers will take up measures on bail reform, critical race theory, transgender student athletes, social media censorship, cybersecurity, abortion regulations and border security.

The special session also could potentially restore funding for lawmakers and their staffs.

Two items not on Abbott's agenda: the state's power grid, which left many Texans without electricity during a winter storm in February, and efforts to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates in the Lone Star State.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said one reason Abbott decided to hold a special session is due to the bipartisan nature of Texas' Legislature, which makes it hard to get bills passed despite Republican dominance. Another reason is due to Texas' biennial legislature. 

"Part of the reason he's stacking the blocks, with all of these items, is that he needs to make up for lost time," Rottinghaus told Paste BN in an interview. 

Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward's University, said the special session is Abbott's play at getting his political priorities met.

“As governor, he has the ability to call a special session. He’s the only one who can do it, and he has the ability to set the agenda. So this is Greg Abbott's Christmas list to Santa,” said Smith.

Will Greg Abbott run for president? 

Abbott is up for reelection next year and is facing primary challenges from Texas GOP Chairman Allen West and former state Sen. Don Huffines. West previously announced his resignation as chairman.

There is also speculation that Abbott will run for president in 2024. 

"If Abbott is thinking about a 2024 GOP presidential bid, the first test will be, how well does he do in the 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary in Texas?" Jones said. "The better he does, the better his prospects are in 2024."

Abbott is already well-positioned to make a potential bid. 

"Being a Republican from Texas, that's going to give you a lot more name recognition simply because Texas is a big state," Smith said. 

But Abbott and other 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls can't make their bids without addressing the elephant in the room — and formerly in the Oval Office. 

"Who's going to be Trump's successor?” Smith said. “Trump still is very, very popular among the Republican base. And everybody wants to be the legacy to Trump, or at least to his voters and his donors."

"What we're seeing here is, if Trump doesn't run, who are those people going to support?" Smith added. "And that's why we're seeing Gov. Abbott put a lot of conservative issues out there, that's why we're seeing Gov. Abbott go to the border with Donald Trump. Because we know Donald Trump is not going to be a young man in 2024. Donald Trump also brings a lot of baggage; you'd have to be blind not to see that.”

There has been a perception that Abbott is not willing to fight for conservative priorities, which may endanger a presidential bid against other right-wing leaders. Abbott's agenda for the session "shows that he's willing to go all out for conservative priorities," Rottinghaus said. 

Rottinghaus also said Abbott "needs to outmaneuver the rest of the Republican governors who have got a jump on him." 

Abbott isn't alone in vying for national limelight

Abbott is not the only conservative governor seeking to forge a path to the top of the GOP's national leadership. 

He faces stiff competition from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, both of whom have consistently made national headlines over the past year. 

"I think (Abbott) wants to be the most conservative Republican in the room," Rottinghaus said. "Obviously the 'why' is the big question, and a lot of it is that the governor needs to keep up with the DeSantis' and the Noem's of the world. He can see that from a traction perspective, he's not getting the same attention that they are, and that's bad for business." 

Last week, Noem announced her intent to send National Guard troops to Texas in response to Abbott's request for assistance in securing the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The political theatrics afforded Noem headlines, but it may not be enough to launch her to the country's top office. 

“You have to consider her to be credible because she is a governor," Jones said. "But I would say if you're Abbott, you're thinking that Ron DeSantis is much more of a threat than Kristi Noem because realistically Florida is another large state.”

But Abbott's positioning makes him a potentially formidable match, according to Smith. 

“Being the governor of Texas, gives you a lot of credibility with the Republican Party... The only state that comes close is Florida, and we already see the governor of that state making rumbles," Smith said.