Abbott Attempts to Hang Affordability Woes
on Tax-and-Spend Policies Democrats Back
Capitol Inside
July 13, 2026
Governor Greg Abbott sought to turn a major liability into public relations gold on Monday when he blamed James Talarico and Democrats for the country's economic struggles and record consumer prices despite the fact the GOP controls the White House, Congress and the entire state government in Texas.
Abbott continued to ignore Gina Hinojosa as the Democratic challenger in the Texas governor's race - reserving his wrath for Talarico instead as the minority party's candidate for the U.S. Senate here this year. The third-term Republican governor has been attacking Talarico routinely while the GOP Senate nominee, Ken Paxton, has appeared to have his own campaign on cruise control since he ousted longtime incumbent John Cornyn in a primary runoff election in May.
Abbott's attempt to hang growing concerns on the economy on the state representative from Austin and other Democrats is an intriguing new twist on an issue that has the potential to be devastating for the Republicans on the midterm ballot in 2026.
"James Talarico has consistently voted to raise taxes, a key pillar of the socialist agenda," Abbott declared in a post on X. "Radical Democrat tax-and-spend policies are driving the affordability crisis."
Abbott may see the voters discontent with the economy on the verge of another surge with oil prices up again as a result of a war with Iran that President Donald Trump can't find a way to end. The governor could have decided the Texas Senate seat would be destined to go blue if he didn't try to reframe the narrative before it was too late.
But Abbott neglected to mention that Talarico and Hinojosa have both voted as Texas House members for the major tax relief proposals that the Republican-controlled Legislature has passed in the past three biennium. The Democratic nominees for the U.S. Senate and governor in Texas backed legislation in 2021, 2023 and 2025 that Republican sponsors said would slash property taxes by $30 billion or more during that time.
After opposing a tax rollback measure in 2019 on a vote that played out largely along party lines, Talarico and Hinojosa both supported GOP measures that hiked the homestead exemption from local property levies from $25,000 to $140,000 over the course of the past six years. But almost all of the Democrats in the Legislature voted for the property tax relief proposals that raised the exemption for homeowners that Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Texas Senate Republicans initiated and House GOP leaders embraced.
Five House Democrats voted against a franchise tax break that Hinojosa and Talarico both supported in a special session in 2023. Four Democrats voted no in the same special session on a package that boost the homestead break from $40,000 to $100,000 with support from all of the Democrats in the chamber including the two who are running for governor and U.S. Senate here in 2026. But the votes on major property tax relief proposals in Texas last year were all unanimous including one when Hinojosa had an excused absence.
GOP leaders have praised the property tax reduction measures as historic achievements that would have a lasting effect. After signing a package that lawmakers approved in special session last summer, Abbott said Texas had earmarked $50 billion from the state budget for property tax relief - an amount he hailed as the largest investment by a state for such a purpose in the history of the U.S.
But it failed to stop local taxes on property from soaring again like they've done after every major swipe at the problem by the Republicans who've controlled both chambers in Austin for two dozen years. Abbott has made a plan to abolish taxes on property to fund the public schools in Texas the centerpiece proposal in a bid for a fourth term as governor.
Talarico and Hinojosa may have voted for tax hikes to foot the bill for public education, health care and other subjects they view as higher priorities than the Republican do. But none of those ever had a chance to pass at a state Capitol where the GOP has controlled the governor's office for 30 years and both chambers of the Legislature since 2003.
A majority of Americans have been holding President Donald Trump responsible for the soaring price for food, gasoline and other consumer goods in polls that have shown his approval marks on the economy at record lows along with his overall popularity. Ninety-five percent of Americans in a new Harris poll say the country is in the midst of an affordability crisis that voters fear is getting worse.
Conducted for The Guardian, the Harris survey found that half of all Republicans, Democrats and independents are struggling to afford everyday necessities. Two-thirds of the Americans in the poll - including almost 50 percent of the Republicans - do not trust the federal government to get a cost-of-living crisis here under control.
more to come ...
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