The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature. The governor may grant pardons in cases other than impeachment (but only when recommended by the Board of Pardons and Paroles) or in the case of treason, with permission by the legislature.

Compared to the governors of other U.S. states, the governorship of Texas has been cited by Slate magazine and liberal commentator Molly Ivins as a fairly weak office. In some respects it is the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, who presides over the state Senate, who is a more powerful political figure able to exercise greater personal prerogatives. Current Governor Rick Perry held the Lt. Governorship from 1999–2000, under George W. Bush.

The state's first constitution in 1845 established the office of governor, to serve for two years, but no more than four years out of every six (essentially a limit of no more than two consecutive terms). The 1861 secessionist constitution set the term start date at the first Monday in the November following the election. The 1866 constitution, adopted just after the American Civil War, increased terms to four years, but no more than eight years out of every twelve, and moved the start date to the first Thursday after the organization of the legislature, or "as soon thereafter as practicable." The Reconstruction constitution of 1869 removed the limit on terms, and to this day, Texas is one of 14 states with no gubernatorial term limit. The present constitution of 1876 shortened terms back to two years, but a 1972 amendment increased it back to four years.

Texas (ⁱ/ˈtɛksəs/) (Alibamu: Teksi ) is the second most populous and the second most extensive of the 50 United States, and the most extensive state of the 48 contiguous United States. The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in East Texas. Located in the South Central United States, Texas shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south, and borders the US states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²), and a growing population of 25.7 million residents.

During the Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas: La Provincia de Texas. Antonio Margil de Jesús was known to be the first person to use the name in a letter to the Viceroy of Mexico in July 20, 1716. The name was not popularly used in daily speech but often appeared in legal documents until the end of the 1800s.

Wendy Davis (b. June 30, 1966) is an American actress. She is currently appearing in the hit Lifetime Television series, Army Wives, as Colonel Joan Burton.

Wendy grew up in Joppatowne, Maryland a small town outside of Baltimore. She attended Joppatowne High School and graduated with a degree in Theater from Howard University. Davis is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Wendy Davis has one child, a daughter. The father is Jacobi Wynne, whom Ms. Davis recently divorced. She and her daughter now live in Charleston, South Carolina, where her hit series Army Wives is filmed.

Davis was regular on the 1991 series The New WKRP in Cincinnati as receptionist Ronnie Lee, and appeared in the 1996-97 police drama High Incident as Lynette White. She appeared in an episode of Grey's Anatomy, in Season One, Episode 9, as Holly Adams, the pregnant wife of Dr. Preston Burke's best college friend. She has also appeared in Cold Case, Coach, Martin, Smart Guy (as Blake's mother), Angel, and other shows.

Debra Medina (born June 1, 1962) was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election. She participated in the January 14 televised debate with incumbent Governor Rick Perry and challenger U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. After subsequently tripling her support in public opinion polls, she was invited to participate alongside her two opponents in a second debate held on January 29.

Medina was born in Beeville in Bee County in south Texas. She graduated as a registered nurse from Baptist Memorial Hospital System School of Nursing (now Baptist Health System) in San Antonio in 1984. She earned her business degree in 1995 from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas. In 2002 she founded and managed Prudentia Inc., a medical billing company based in Wharton, Texas. She grew up Catholic, but now attends a Baptist church.

Medina got involved in politics in the 1990s and became Wharton County GOP chairwoman in 2004. She was a high-level volunteer for Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign, and served as Interim State Coordinator for the Campaign for Liberty. At the 2008 Republican Party of Texas state convention in Houston, she lost her bid for state GOP vice chairwoman. In 2008, she decided to run for governor.

Daniel Patrick Pugh (born May 15, 1956), professionally known as Dan Patrick, is an American Sports Emmy-winning sportscaster, radio personality, and actor from Mason, Ohio. He currently hosts The Dan Patrick Show which is broadcast on radio on Premiere Radio Networks, and on television on The Audience Network for DIRECTV subscribers, co-hosts NBC's Football Night in America, and serves as a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He previously worked at ESPN for 18 years, where he often anchored the weeknight and Sunday 11 PM edition of SportsCenter.

Patrick attended the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. His brother, Bill Pugh, is a longtime sports radio executive, and is currently the head of programming at Clear Channel San Diego. Patrick was a basketball player in high school at William Mason High School, becoming an Ohio all-state selection his senior year. He attended Eastern Kentucky University on a basketball scholarship for two years before transferring to the University of Dayton, where he majored in broadcast journalism. Patrick is also an alumnus of the Eta Hexaton Chapter of the Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity at Dayton.