Gina Hinojosa defeats Greg Abbott to become Texas's first Latina governor

Gina Hinojosa walked onto a stage in East Austin just after 10 p.m. Tuesday to a room that had already imploded. Supporters were sobbing, falling to their knees, gripping each other. The jumbo screens showed a check mark next to her name. Greg Abbott had conceded. For the first time since Ann Richards left the governor's mansion in 1995, Texas had elected a Democrat — and for the first time in the state's history, a Latina — as its governor.

Hinojosa, a fifth-term Austin state representative, won with 52.8% of the vote to Abbott's 45.7%, a margin of 7.1 percentage points, according to the Austin Chronicle. Libertarian Pat Dixon received 1.5%. Abbott, who had launched his reelection bid with the power of incumbency, extensive party infrastructure, and a spending advantage that at one point reached 6-to-1, conceded before the Associated Press had even called the race.

There are still votes to be counted, but mathematically, we're not going to be able to win this election.— Greg Abbott, outgoing Texas Governor

Abbott called Hinojosa to congratulate her and offered to assist with the transition. She will be sworn in as Texas's 49th governor at noon on January 19, 2027, according to NBC DFW.

I have spoken to Gov. Abbott. He called to congratulate me. He extended a generous offer to assist with a transition. I want to thank him and his family for their years of service to this great state.— Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect of Texas

Hinojosa's victory is part of a broader Democratic sweep of several Texas statewide offices in 2026, according to USA Today. James Talarico also defeated Republican nominee Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate, according to the Texas Tribune.

The win came against long odds. For much of the year, Abbott largely ignored Hinojosa. She was outraised by her opponent and overshadowed even within her own party by the Senate race. From July to late September, Abbott outspent her $74.1 million to $12.1 million — a better than 6-to-1 ratio — according to Multistate. His polling lead barely moved over that stretch. As recently as September, an NBC DFW poll had Abbott leading 48% to 41% among likely voters. A University of Texas Texas Politics Project poll in November showed Hinojosa pulling ahead 49% to 48%.

Abbott had also declined all four debate invitations accepted by Hinojosa. When she set up podiums outside the Governor's Mansion in October to press the point, Abbott responded on social media, saying the setup — a standing podium reachable only by stairs — was "purposefully designed to keep someone in a wheelchair from participating." Hinojosa had staged the event on October 15 while Abbott was campaigning in East Texas.

Greg Abbott and myself have been invited to four debates. He has hid from all four invitations. I have accepted all four. He won't debate me because he can't defend his indefensible record. And I believe that if he's not man enough to debate me, then he doesn't deserve to be governor.— Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect of Texas

In her victory speech, Hinojosa laid out a sharp agenda for her first days in office, centering on public education. She pledged to fire Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath on day one and to work to reverse Abbott's private school voucher program, which she called "the Texas voucher scam." She also promised to raise public school teachers' pay and to ensure that school closures would stop.

In case you haven't heard, on day one I will fire Mike Morath and we will work to repair the damage of the Texas voucher scam and end the era in which our schools are sold for parts.— Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect of Texas

But Hinojosa also struck a note of restraint, signaling she did not intend to govern as a mirror image of the Republican dominance she had just ended.

We did not end one era of single party rule to usher in another.— Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect of Texas

Hinojosa, 52, grew up in Brownsville, in the Rio Grande Valley — the 956 area code that the crowd chanted repeatedly on election night. She is the first governor of Texas from that region. She has served as Austin ISD's school board president and represented Texas's 49th House district for five two-year terms.

To my hometown, Brownsville. Tonight, one of your own becomes the first governor of Texas from the Rio Grande Valley.— Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect of Texas

Abbott, who served 12 years as governor, thanked Texans in his concession and said he would help with the transition. "I love our state. It has been an honor to serve it. And know that we are leaving Texas in far better shape than it's ever been," he told supporters, according to the Texas Tribune.

Hinojosa closed her victory speech with a line that drew on the long campaign and the longer drought before it: "They have labored, and they have obtained the American dream through a long, hard night. My friends, it is morning now."

Previous Democratic candidates had mounted serious bids for the Texas governorship and fallen short: state Sen. Wendy Davis in 2014, former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez in 2018, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke in 2022, according to the Austin Chronicle. Republicans had held the office since 1995, when Ann Richards lost reelection to George W. Bush.

Why it matters — Hinojosa's win ends 32 years of Republican control of the Texas governorship and sets up an immediate policy battle over public school funding, vouchers, and the direction of the nation's second-largest state.

Reported by dallasnews.com, multistate.us, texastribune.org, nbcdfw.com, austinchronicle.com, usatoday.com