Convenience Big Store: Read Day 1 of our new Texas Elections [Simplified] newsletter

Election 2022: Texas Elections [Simplified]

The Election 2022 newsletter will officially launch again on Thursday, but today we're bringing you a preview of our newest newsletter — Texas Elections [Simplified]. The five-day newsletter course walks you through each of the public offices on the ballot, explaining what they are responsible for and how the decisions made by politicians in those offices can affect you and other Texans.

If you like what you read below, sign up to get all five newsletters in the course here.

Hello,

I'm Robert Eckhart, editor in charge of the Chronicle's Austin Bureau. Thanks for signing up for this crash-course on Texas elections. We'll catch you up with the news as we head into election season and refamiliarize you with the public offices on the ballot.

This is the first of five newsletters in which we'll look at statewide, judicial and local offices. It starts with the Texas Governor's Office and the race between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O'Rourke.

Let's dive in.

Up first: The Governor

So what does the Governor of Texas do?

More and more, it seems, since COVID-19 began. People used to say Texas had a "weak governor system," but they don't anymore.

Main responsibilities: The governor appoints leaders of state agencies like the commissioner of the state police and the Secretary of State, calls lawmakers to Austin for legislative sessions and can veto bills the Legislature has passed.

For example: In 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott used a line-item veto in the budget to reject funding for the Legislature, its staffers and legislative agencies as retribution after Democrats broke quorum to block the passage of a GOP election bill.

What changed during the pandemic? Abbott's use of his emergency powers vastly expanded his control of state government, providing a road map that future governors are likely to follow.

For example: Instead of calling a special session of the Legislature to consider how Texas should respond to COVID-19, Abbott wielded his power to declare it an emergency and unilaterally make critical decisions about business closures and containment measures. Only three other states had governors who held that much authority for so long — Montana, Nevada and North Dakota.

Going further: Abbott has also used his emergency powers to launch Operation Lone Star, an unprecedented push to deploy National Guard troops and state police to the Mexican border to arrest immigrants on state trespassing charges as they cross. The Republican-led Legislature fully supported Abbott's border enforcement push, which costs $2 billion a year, while Democrats characterize it as an unconstitutional power grab that usurps the federal government's authority to enforce immigration laws.

Looking ahead: It's a safe bet that politics will continue to play a key role in what a Texas governor deems an emergency.

Who's running?

Republican: Greg Abbott, Wichita Falls native and former Texas Attorney General, is seeking a third four-year term in office.

Priorities: Abbott has made border security and defending law enforcement his top priorities as he faces the most competitive re-election fight of his 30-year career in politics.

Democrat: Beto O'Rourke is a former congressman and city council member from El Paso who narrowly lost a statewide election to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018.

Priorities: O'Rourke has focused his gubernatorial campaign on fixing the power grid, attracting jobs and improving education.

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Sign up for the Texas Elections [Simplified] newsletter here to read the rest of Day 1's newsletter and receive the rest of the series in your inbox.

The Election 2022 newsletter will be back in your inbox Thursday morning.