Gov. Greg Abbott has picked one of his most trusted advisers to become Texas' next secretary of state, putting a veteran Capitol insider in charge of the state's elections just months before the November midterm elections.
Abbott announced Friday that Robert Howden will serve as Texas' interim secretary of state, replacing Jane Nelson, whose resignation officially took effect Friday.
Howden isn't a newcomer to Texas politics. He's worked for Republican governors dating back to Bill Clements and has served as Abbott's legislative director since 2024. While he'll take over immediately, the Texas Senate will have to confirm his appointment when lawmakers return to Austin in January.
"Robert Howden has served Texas with distinction in four Republican governors' administrations," Abbott said in a statement. "His experience in the legislative process and extensive public service have prepared him to protect the integrity of Texas elections and represent our state with strength on the global stage."
The announcement ends weeks of speculation after Nelson revealed in early June that she would be stepping down. She never publicly explained why she was leaving, saying only that she worked hard "to ensure that voting in Texas is secure, accessible and fair."
Abbott praised Nelson's work, calling her an "extraordinary" secretary of state.
Nelson leaves behind a lengthy record of public service. Before becoming secretary of state, she was the longest-serving Republican woman in the Texas Senate and the first woman to chair the Senate Finance Committee. During her three-and-a-half years as secretary of state, she oversaw seven statewide elections and distributed millions of dollars in grants to county election officials.
Her time in office wasn't without controversy.
Toward the end of her tenure, Nelson found herself at odds with some Republican leaders over efforts to close Texas' primary elections. The Texas GOP sued, arguing it should have the authority to require voters to register with a political party before participating in primaries.
Attorney General Ken Paxton sided with the Republican Party in the lawsuit instead of defending current state law. Nelson pushed back, calling the move "brazen and misguided." In court filings, she said Paxton's office gave her less than an hour's notice before joining the case and argued that changing election law is the Legislature's job—not the courts'.
Abbott has also voiced support for closing the primaries, saying lawmakers "can and should be more responsive to Republicans than a judge may be."
Howden steps into the job at a time when election issues remain front and center in Texas.
During Nelson's tenure, Texas became one of just 15 states to give the U.S. Department of Justice access to its full voter registration database, including identifiable information for roughly 18 million registered voters.
The state also began using the federal SAVE database to verify voter citizenship, a move that has sparked multiple lawsuits from voting rights groups.
According to Votebeat, Nelson also raised concerns about the SAVE system in an April letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
