Gina Hinojosa has defeated Greg Abbott in the Texas governor’s race, ending more than three decades of Republican control and delivering Democrats a historic victory in one of America’s most closely watched states.
The Democratic state representative from Austin will become the first Democrat elected governor of Texas since Ann Richards left office in 1995. She will also be the state’s first Latina governor and only the third woman to hold the position.
Hinojosa’s victory denied Abbott a fourth consecutive term after a campaign focused on the cost of living, public education and the expansion of artificial intelligence data centres across Texas. She was ahead with 52.8 per cent of the vote in the latest statewide results, compared with 45.8 per cent for Abbott. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/c9a0ffa1ec3cd599f9bc304ae26268a2))
Texas governor’s race marks a political upheaval
The result represents a major reversal in a state where Republicans have controlled the governor’s office since George W Bush succeeded Ms Richards in January 1995.
Abbott, who first took office in 2015, had presented his campaign as a defence of the so-called Texas Model, built around tax reductions, job creation and conservative social policies. He repeatedly portrayed Hinojosa’s proposals as extreme during a contest that tightened considerably in the final weeks.
He conceded the race on Tuesday night after reviewing results from counties across the state and telephoned Hinojosa to congratulate her.
“After looking at all the details of every county in the entire state, I made the decision to go ahead and call Gina Hinojosa and congratulate her on winning this race for governor of the state of Texas,” Abbott said.
The defeat ends a governorship that lasted three terms, leaving Abbott short of Rick Perry’s record 14 years in office.
Hinojosa campaigned on education and affordability
Hinojosa made household costs and public services the centrepieces of her campaign, arguing that Texans were more concerned about rising expenses than the cultural battles that have dominated state politics.
She opposed Abbott’s school voucher programme and pledged to end it, while also promising to scrap the STARR standardised testing system. Her campaign presented the proposals as part of a wider effort to strengthen state schools and improve educational outcomes.
She also criticised the governor’s approach to data-centre development, warning that the rapid growth of the industry could place additional pressure on communities and household bills.
In her victory speech, Hinojosa promised immediate action on education and said she would dismiss Texas education commissioner Mike Morath on her first day in office.
“The voters have delivered a mandate for change, and it is change they will get,” she said.
Hinojosa is expected to take office in January 2027. Her victory makes her the first Democrat to win the Texas governorship in more than 30 years and gives the party its clearest statewide breakthrough in a generation. ([cbsnews.com](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-governor-election-2026-greg-abbott-gina-hinojosa-results/))
She thanked her family and campaign team, and acknowledged Abbott’s offer to help with the transition. “The nation will look at Texas and say we’ve won something far more important than an election,” she said. “They will look at Texas and say that faith in government has been restored.”
Donald Trump, who had visited Texas several times to campaign for Republicans, blamed Abbott’s defeat on what he described as a recent departure from conservative principles.
“If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!”
