Patricia Lim, KUT News/Godofredo A. Vásquez, AP
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, left, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are scheduled to appear in Houston on back-to-back days.
Depending on your political views, it may be the best of times or the worst of times.
But it certainly is a tale of two governors. Texas’ Greg Abbott and California’s Gavin Newsom are both coming to Houston this weekend, with their eyes on next year’s midterm election.
Abbott, a Republican, is teasing a “special announcement” on Sunday evening at the East River 9 golf course, “outlining his vision for the future of Texas.” The announcement, sent from Abbott’s campaign email rather than his official gubernatorial email, could be his much-anticipated launch of an unprecedented fourth term as governor.
Before that, Newsom will rally on Saturday with Harris County Democrats on the heels of California’s sweeping approval of new congressional maps — a direct response to Texas’ own redistricting in favor of Republicans.
Texas’ maps, urged by the Trump administration, are still awaiting a decision on their legality by a federal judge. California Republicans have already sued the state over its new maps that favor Democrats.
Beyond that, Abbott and Newsom are both considered contenders for their respective parties’ nominations in the 2028 presidential election.
Abbott and Newsom likely won’t interact during their weekend in Houston, but they have shared words with one another in the past. Most recently, Newsom criticized Abbott’s assistance in deploying members of the Texas National Guard to Chicago.
When Abbott announced a special legislative session focused partly on redistricting the state, in an effort to benefit Republicans’ chances in the 2026 midterms, Newsom openly criticized the move and hosted Texas Democratic leaders, who were breaking quorum in an effort to block the maps’ passage.
Texas House Democrats ultimately ceded their quorum break after California Democrats pulled together a plan to pass their own redrawn congressional maps, which openly favored Democrats.
Other Texas politicians have their eyes set on Houston. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton, the latter of whom is running for the U.S. Senate, plan to speak at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Patrick wrote on social media that he pledged $1 million to Turning Point in an effort to launch chapters at every college and high school campus in Texas.