Texas Gov. Greg Abbott visited a housing development in Socorro on Wednesday to talk about his campaign promises to make the state more affordable for residents from home ownership to prescription drugs and auto insurance.
Abbott was among the 50 people crowded into a small model home in the 900 block of Andrew Arroyos Drive to thank builders and others who helped construct affordable housing.
“We want to make sure that more Texans are going to be able to get into their own homes,” Abbott said during a brief news conference inside the home’s living room to promote his “Keep Texas Affordable” reelection campaign tour.
The state’s chief executive talked about existing laws and legislation that he wants introduced that he says will cut property taxes, and lower home, health and auto insurance costs, to include an end to mandates for health insurance policies, which he said could add an estimated 1 million more Texans to insurance rolls. He also proposed a “good driver” discount.
His Democratic opponent in the November election, Gina Hinojosa, said that these efforts should have been suggested or implemented years ago. Abbott was first elected governor in 2014 and is seeking his fourth term in office.
“Greg Abbott is the face of 30 years of corrupt, establishment control in Austin that has driven up costs for working families – if he wanted to lower costs, he would have,” Hinojosa said in an email response to El Paso Matters.
“My plan is simple: save public schools and put money in your pocket by ending the Greg Abbott Corruption Tax,” said Hinojosa, an attorney who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and represents Central Austin in the Texas House of Representatives.
“As I travel the state, Republicans, Independents, and Democrats are taking a stand to rebuild the American Dream in Texas with an economy that works for the people, not the billionaires,” she said.
A study by the Pena El Paso Realty Group published in March said that a family of four would need about $80,000-$100,000 to cover food, childcare, housing, transportation and to have something left over for savings.
“El Paso’s cost of living is roughly 15% to 20% below the national average, making a dollar go significantly further here than in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, or most coastal cities,” according to the report.
Abbott, reading from notes, talked about addressing the cost of life-saving drugs. He mentioned how the state already passed legislation that capped co-pays for insulin at $25 per month, though that only applies to Texans covered by state-regulated insurance plans. He said he wants to do the same for inhalers and epinephrine, which is used to reverse life-threatening allergic reactions. His campaign literature states that those caps could save families $120 for inhalers and at least $650 for epinephrine a year.
As for the health insurance mandates, Abbott referred to his Essential Benefits Health Insurance Plan that would cover essential healthcare needs and be more affordable for employers. The campaign has stated that the new plan would cut premiums by almost 20%. These could provide families and employers annual savings of nearly $1,150 and up to $3,400, respectively, according to the campaign.
Abbott also addressed zoning reforms that some consider barriers to housing affordability. He talked about his signing of Senate Bills 15 and 840 in August 2025. SB 15 cut the need for excessively large residential lot sizes and cut local red tape on setbacks and parking rules. SB 840 changed zoning to allow apartments and mixed-use construction in areas that previously were zoned for retail, office and commercial uses.
The governor said he would ask for legislation to speed up the permit and inspection processes to include allowing licensed third-party inspectors, who work for the buyer, to make occupancy determinations. He also wants to propose legislation that would allow preapproved home designs.
He praised El Paso and Socorro as model municipalities when it comes to speedy approval of permits and the use of third-party inspectors. He said local governments that skirt the law could have their sales tax revenue withheld.
The post Abbott touts housing, insurance and tax proposals during Socorro reelection campaign stop appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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