Sources say former Mayor Ron Nirenberg has been telling fellow Democrats he’s considering a run for governor in 2026 — a potentially grueling race against the formidable Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
In recent months Nirenberg, 48, has repeatedly teased the idea he could run for another office — in speeches at the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s gala and other public events.
Last week Nirenberg returned from a family vacation in Spain and immediately appeared alongside Beto O’Rourke, state Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock) and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) — all viewed as potential statewide candidates in 2026 — at an event at San Antonio’s Stable Hall.
Sources familiar with the conversations say Nirenberg had been discussing the possibility of running for governor even before he’d left the mayor’s office — and returned from vacation telling the other Democrats he was interested in the race.
Nirenberg did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday through his longtime campaign hand James Aldrete.
“2026 is a very important election,” he told a packed house Friday evening at Stable Hall. “This is more than just about Democrats and Republicans, this is about right and wrong.”
He went on: “[It’s about] building a community that bolsters and embraces democratic values, and democracy, or slips further and further behind, as we have seen in the last 150 days the Trump administration, or frankly, the last 35 years the Republicans controlled the state of Texas.”
A full Democratic ticket?
Unlike recent election cycles, where Texas Democrats had just one major candidate raising big money for a statewide race, this year several high-profile candidates are talking about running.
Governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, a U.S. Senate seat, and almost all of Texas’ other statewide offices will be on the ballot in November 2026.
Former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, State Rep. James Talarico, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and Beto O’Rourke at a town hall at the Stable Hall on Friday evening. Credit: Brenda Bazán / San Antonio Report
Allred, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2024, just launched another Senate bid this week. Talarico has also been considering running for Senate, as has Castro and O’Rourke.
Broadly, Democrats want to avoid messy primaries in the statewide races, but the major candidates are still in conversation with one another about who best fits each position.
O’Rourke planned the event at Stable Hall and invited Talarico and Castro, as well as local Democratic officials. Upon invitation, Nirenberg offered to give a welcome address, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
Another event with O’Rourke, Castro and Talarico is in the works, likely to be held in Austin later this month. It has yet to be determined whether Nirenberg will also be a speaker.
A formidable incumbent
Abbott, for his part, has signaled little concern about opposition to his bid for a third term.
The governor started the year with nearly $70 million on hand and was in San Antonio last week raising money at an event hosted by Bruce Bugg, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, according to a local Republican official.
Governor Greg Abbott campaigns for then-Texas House candidate Marc LaHood (R-121) at the Angry Elephant ahead of the 2024 November election. Credit: Scott Ball / San Antonio Report
Asked about Texas Democrats’ maneuvering for 2026, Abbott’s chief political adviser Dave Carney told the Dallas Morning News last month that “it’s irrelevant what the Democrats do.”
Carney told the newspaper: “We’ll tell voters what we’ve done and that we want to continue to build on those successes.”
A long wind-up for Nirenberg
When Nirenberg took office in 2017, he brought a distinctly apolitical approach to the nonpartisan mayor’s office.
But over eight years in the role — the maximum allowed under the city’s term limits — he’s sharpened his criticism of GOP leaders and worked to expand his political network beyond San Antonio.
In a prime speaking role at last year’s Texas Tribune Festival, Nirenberg said Texas’ mayors were moving the state forward on issues like housing, infrastructure and workforce development — while state leaders actively made their jobs harder.
“The things that are holding us back, the headwinds that we’re facing, are up in the capital,” he said in the September interview with former Tribune publisher Evan Smith.
Nirenberg went on to suggest that Abbott’s push to create a school voucher program and the so-called “Death Star” bill were examples of Texas Republicans steadily overplaying their hands, appealing to their base at the expense of the rest of the state.
“If you fail to invest in education, if you ignore the challenges of urban communities … if you ignore the vast majority of this population, which is now in an urban state, you’re going to continue to alienate yourself from Texas,” he said. “That’s why I think Texas is or soon will be in play.”
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg speaks at a rally for Kamala Harris at San Antonio College ahead of the 2024 election. Credit: Bria Woods / San Antonio Report
At the same time, Nirenberg has been building relationships with national Democratic leaders who last year made him a national surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
Nirenberg was considered in the mix for a potential White House appointment if Harris had won.
Weeks after the November election went the other way, text messages between Nirenberg and his staff indicated other political plans were in the works.
In a Dec. 13, 2024, text message to the mayor, obtained by open records request and shared with the San Antonio Report, Nirenberg’s chief of staff and political adviser Zack Lyke said they could spend the next six months meeting with as many Democratic governors as possible, and potentially use the men’s Final Four basketball tournament, hosted at the Alamodome, as a “convening opportunity.”
Lyke later stated that those meetings didn’t come to fruition.
But Nirenberg has also continued raising money, formed a new PAC in the last year, and has been working on a potential book.
In a farewell address last month, Nirenberg offered some hints at a possible future campaign pitch.
He spoke passionately about leading an economically vulnerable city through the Covid-19 pandemic and the investments the city has since made in affordable housing, workforce development and public transit.
Nirenberg also addressed some of the culture war issues he steered clear of earlier in his career, but has taken a more aggressive approach to in his final term.
“We continue to weather the state and national politicization of disease, gender, autonomy, and the simple freedom of choice,” Nirenberg said. “We deserve to live our lives how we want to live them — and until all are able to do so, the work must continue.”