Democrat Gina Hinojosa has won the Texas governor's race, defeating Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, according to the Associated Press. The result ends more than three decades of Republican control of the governor's office and prevents Abbott from securing a fourth term.
Hinojosa, a 52-year-old state representative from Austin, will take office in January 2027. She will become the first Latina to serve as governor of Texas and the first Democrat to hold the position since Ann Richards left office in 1995. Her victory breaks a long period of Republican success in the state's gubernatorial elections.
A former president of the Austin school board, Hinojosa grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. Her campaign focused on public education and the costs facing households, while challenging the record of Texas' Republican leadership. Education was a central point of disagreement between her and Abbott during the campaign.
Hinojosa opposed the private-school voucher program Abbott championed, which began in 2026 with $1 billion in taxpayer funding for students attending private schools. She also promised to appoint an educator to replace Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, whose background is in software development and investing.
Abbott, 68, campaigned on a promise to reduce property taxes. He also argued that his leadership had improved safety in Texas, pointing in part to his efforts to secure the border. Those messages formed part of his unsuccessful bid to extend his time in the governor's office.
Before the election, David Crockett, a political science professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, described the significance a Hinojosa victory would carry after decades of Republican statewide wins. Such a result, he said, "would be perceived as an earthquake."
Despite winning the governorship, Hinojosa will likely have to work with a Republican-led legislature. Crockett said passing meaningful legislation would depend on finding areas of agreement between the two sides, a task he expected to be difficult.
Nancy Sims, a political science lecturer at the University of Houston, offered a national explanation for a possible Democratic breakthrough before Election Day. She said a Democratic victory in Texas in 2026 would reflect anger toward the federal government and Donald Trump.
