If there are no Texans who decide to run for president in the 2024 election, it will be the first time since 1972. At least one Texan has run in every U.S. presidential race since 1972 – will the 50-year streak come to an end this cycle?

It may happen. I don’t look for any Texas Democrats to challenge Joe Biden for their party’s nomination. On the Republican side, with Trump in the race and Florida Governor DeSantis waiting in the wings to make his move, I would guess that Ted Cruz takes a pass as he did in 2020. He’s up for re-election in 2024 and I think he will concentrate on holding on to his seat in the Senate, especially as Republicans are working to take back control of the Senate in 2024.

Former Rep. Will Hurd from San Antonio has been mentioned as a possible candidate. An aide said he is seriously considering a bid and may bring on staff. He would be in the moderate lane.

There has been speculation about Governor Abbott running for president. He was decisively re-elected in November 2022 when he won a third term as governor by kicking Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke’s three-time loser butt. I’ve never had the feeling that Abbott is running, though, and I think if he was, I would have by now. I could be wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time for that. He’s just not sending that vibe if you ask me. He’s involved now with the current session of the Texas Legislature so we won’t know anything until that ends on May 29. Don’t look for any answers from Abbott until after Memorial Day. Dave Carney, Abbott’s chief strategist and to his predecessor Rick Perry, told the AP, “Clearly, there’s some constitutional amendment that voters supported back in the day that says, ‘If you’re a governor of Texas, you must consider running for president,'” he joked. “And many of them have. For good or bad.”

The last Texans to run for president were not Republicans. They were Beto O’Rourke and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. They both ran in 2020 and quickly flamed out of the Democrat primary. Three Texans have won the presidency – Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, George H.W. Bush in 1988, and George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004.

Lots of Texans have run for president and many of them have had very forgettable campaigns.

That includes Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen’s 1976 run and bids by Republican Rep. Ron Paul in 2008 and Republican Sen. Phil Gramm in 1996. John Connally was Texas’ 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.

Eric Ostermeier, a research fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs said the one challenger to Joe Biden in the Democrat primary is Houston-born Marianne Williamson but she would count as a Californian. She lives in Beverly Hills. He counts a home state as where a candidate rose to public prominence or lived when they ran for office. That’s California for both of those for Williamson. Remember when Rep. Eric Swalwell ran in the 2020 Democrat primary and lasted about 5 minutes? Good times, good times.

Candidates from California have launched more overall bids. The number is 19. But Texans and New Yorkers are second, producing 15 total candidacies each. There will be plenty of presidential trivia in the next months. This trivia about Texas was interesting and since I’m a Texas resident – have been since 1998 – it caught my attention. I’ll be waiting to see what the three Texans mentioned decide to do. Will Cruz, Hurd, or Abbott decide to jump in? If I had to guess, I’d say of the three, maybe Hurd gets in. He sounds like he is looking for national recognition. Both Abbott and Cruz already have that and can sit 2024 out. Stay tuned.