Hinojosa would be Texas’s first Latina to hold the office
The Associated Press called the race for Democrat Gina Hinojosa over Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, ending more than three decades of Republican control of the Texas governor’s office. The result denied Abbott a fourth term. Hinojosa is scheduled to take office in January 2027 as the first Latina sworn in as Texas governor and the first Democratic governor since Ann Richards, who left office in 1995.
Hinojosa, 52, entered the race as an Austin state representative and former Austin school board president who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. She built her campaign around public education and household costs, along with criticism of the state’s Republican leadership.
Hinojosa opposed the private-school voucher program championed by Abbott. The program began in 2026 with $1 billion in tax money for students attending private schools.
She also pledged to replace Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, a software developer and investor, with an educator.
Abbott, 68, promised to lower property taxes and said he had made Texas safer, in part by securing the border.
Before the election, David Crockett, a political science professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, said a win by Hinojosa “would be perceived as an earthquake” after decades of Republican statewide victories.
Hinojosa will likely face a Republican-led legislature. “Getting any meaningful legislation through is going to require them to find something they can agree on and that’s not going to be easy,” Crockett said.
Nancy Sims, a political science lecturer at the University of Houston, said before Election Day that a Democratic breakthrough would reflect frustration with Washington. “If Democrats win in Texas in 2026, it will be because of anger at the federal government and at Donald Trump,” she said.