Governor Greg Abbott produced his annual report in May, which can be found at https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-releases-2026-report-to-the-people-of-texas. It is 60 pages long and not surprisingly suggests that Greg Abbott is infallible and has transformed Texas into a flawless paradise.
The Libertarian Party of Texas conducted an excellent analysis of this report which can be found here: https://patdixon.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Texas_Report_Libertarian_Review.pdf. Not surprisingly, the Libertarian Party challenges many of the assertions of Greg Abbott’s report.
***
You might expect Libertarians and Democrats to disagree with Greg Abbott on many matters. You might not expect the leading conservative policy foundation in Texas to also disagree. The Texas Public Policy Foundation is arguably to most powerful force in state policy, and their analysis of found at https://www.texaspolicyresearch.com/reviewing-governor-greg-abbotts-2026-report-to-the-people/. Some of the contents include the following:
Education: “Still, the broader education story of the 89th Legislature was not government shrinking. It was government was spending more on both systems simultaneously.”
Economic Growth and Corporate Welfare: “The report touts billions in projected capital investment connected to these programs, but economic growth should not come from government officials attempting to pick winners and losers.”
Record Spending and Bigger Government: “Yet the report repeatedly celebrates the expansion of state-directed programs, grant systems, incentive structures, and new agencies.”
“Can the state continue to claim the mantle of limited government while overseeing an increasingly expansive network of economic planning, subsidy distribution, surveillance infrastructure, and state-directed development?”
Border Security and Constitutional Concerns: “The long-term danger is allowing emergency-style governance to become permanent governance. Once extraordinary enforcement powers become normalized, they rarely disappear.”
Public Safety and Expanding State Power: “Texas cannot simultaneously champion liberty while ignoring concerns about due process, warrant protections, privacy rights, or the long-term implications of expanded government surveillance infrastructure. The growth of state power should always be approached cautiously, even when politically popular.”
A More Assertive Texas Government: “Critics increasingly worry that Texas is drifting toward a version of conservatism that embraces government growth so long as the objectives are politically aligned.”
Final Thoughts: “But it also reflects a growing philosophical tension inside Texas conservatism itself.”
“Can Texas remain the nation’s model for limited government while embracing record spending, expanding bureaucracy, corporate subsidies, aggressive enforcement systems, and government-directed economic investment?”
***
It is common for an annual report to be a glowing portrayal of leadership. It can be easy to gloss over dangers when things look rosy on the surface. A more accurate account comes from challenging the narrative. Greg Abbott did not transform Texas into a paradise. Texas has always been uniquely great, which is why we live here. To maintain what makes Texas great, we need leaders that will not take us in the wrong direction. This year, vote Libertarian to keep Texas great.