AUSTIN, Texas (AP) 鈥 It鈥檚 early yet, but next year鈥檚 presidential race may feature something the political world hasn't seen in the last 50 years: no Texans.
The Texas-size hole in the field will be on stark display Friday at a closed Republican donor event outside the state capital, Austin, featuring the likes of former Vice President , who is expected to mount a campaign, and former South Carolina Gov. , who last week.
Some Texans could still run. Republican Gov. won鈥檛 decide until after Memorial Day. Republican Sen. , who ran in 2016, says he鈥檚 focused for now on reelection next year. , a onetime CIA agent and former Republican congressman from San Antonio, is seriously considering a bid and may bring on staff, aides say.
If none of them seeks the White House, it鈥檇 be the first time since 1972 without at least one major candidate who rose to public prominence in Texas or lived in the state while running for or holding office.
Finding the next most recent Texan-less presidential cycle requires going all the way back to 1952, four years before Lyndon B. Johnson made his first attempt at the White House.
鈥淐learly, there鈥檚 some constitutional amendment that voters supported back in the day that says, 鈥業f you鈥檙e a governor of Texas, you must consider running for president,鈥欌 joked Dave Carney, Abbott's chief strategist and a top strategist to Texas Gov. 2012 presidential bid. 鈥淎nd many of them have. For good or bad.鈥
Some Texans' White House runs were indeed forgettable.
That includes Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen鈥檚 1976 run and bids by Republican Rep. Ron Paul in 2008 and Republican Sen. Phil Gramm in 1996. John Connally was Texas鈥 Democratic governor from 1963 until 1969 but sought the White House as a Republican in 1980. Dallas businessman Ross Perot never held elected office but mounted major presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996.
Indeed, if this cycle proceeds without a Texas official, it won't be a sign of the state鈥檚 waning political influence. Texas鈥 booming population has added nearly 4 million residents since 2010 while getting younger and more diverse. Its has attracted tech companies and corporate stalwarts who have flocked in from around the country.
Texas has also become a , enacting one of the even before the Supreme Court and while calling for .
鈥淚 think every year a Texan鈥檚 not in the presidential race is disappointing to me,鈥 said George Seay, a major GOP donor based in Dallas who was Perry鈥檚 finance chair in 2012 and supported Marco Rubio in 2016.
鈥淲ith all due respect to Florida, which is an incredibly compelling, right-leaning state from a political standpoint,鈥 Seay added, 鈥淭exas is the sun, the moon and the stars.鈥
A possible presidential race without a Texan would be a departure from recent cycles, which featured more than one. The 2012 GOP presidential primary pitted Paul against Perry and 2016's featured Perry and Cruz. Former Rep. and former San Antonio Mayor both ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
Although only three presidents have actually called Texas home, the state has left a mark on Washington.
Long after he left office, a Braniff Airlines flight dubbed the 鈥淟BJ Special鈥 continued to fly from Washington Dulles to Austin every afternoon, an unusual nonstop flight for the time. President George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, was the 鈥淲estern White House鈥 but only because Johnson鈥檚 ranch in Stonewall, where he spent nearly a quarter of his presidency, had already claimed the 鈥淭exas White House鈥 moniker.
Bush even flew his favorite caterer, Eddie Deen, from suburban Dallas to Washington to serve smoked ribs and stuffed jalapenos at his inaugural balls. His father, President George H.W. Bush, was a congressman from Houston and incorporated the state's rugged ethos into his political brand, trying to season his Northeast upbringing with a dash of down-home.
鈥淓verything is bigger in Texas, including the egos of our already outsize politicians,鈥 said Mark Updegrove, CEO of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, who noted that playing up their Texas swagger has paid off through the decades for presidential candidates from both parties.
Since the modern era of presidential campaigning began in 1972, Texans have been involved in more cycles than any other state. Candidates from California have launched more overall bids at 19, according to Eric Ostermeier, a research fellow at University of Minnesota鈥檚 Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. But Texans and New Yorkers are second, producing 15 total candidacies each.
Ostermeier says he counts a home state as where a candidate rose to public prominence or lived when they ran for office. That means Houston-born , who lives in Beverly Hills and is readying a 2024 Democratic presidential bid, would qualify as a Californian.
More clarity on possible Texans in the 2024 primary campaign will come after the state Legislature adjourns in late May. Carney said Abbott will then 鈥渓ook at what the state of the race is, and does he have something that would be differentiating to the race that would be attractive to voters.鈥
鈥淭he governor will not be a spoiler,鈥 Carney said. 鈥淏ut, if he thinks he has something to offer, he might run. If he thinks there鈥檚 enough folks running with the same, similar ideas that he has,鈥 then probably not.
Hurd, who retired from Congress in 2021 after three terms representing Texas' most competitive House district, traveled to New Hampshire recently and is planning trips to other early primary states.
Cruz says he's concentrating on his Senate race next year but hasn't ruled out another presidential run. He could do both. Texas鈥 so-called LBJ law allows running for Senate and president simultaneously, and Bentsen was reelected to his seat while losing the vice presidency in 1988.
A Cruz aide called the prospect of no Texans in the presidential race since 1972 a 鈥渃lever bit of trivia.鈥 ___
Weissert reported from Washington.
