CNN projected that Democrat Gina Hinojosa had defeated three-term Republican Governor Greg Abbott, delivering Texas Democrats a stunning victory during a broader blue surge in the midterm elections.
Hinojosa, 52, becomes the first Democrat to capture the Texas governor’s office since Ann Richards won the race in 1990.
The contest proved far more competitive than expected for Abbott, who first won the governor’s mansion 12 years ago in a state that had long been considered reliably Republican.
Abbott appeared to suffer as Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton faced his own difficult Senate contest against young Democratic state Representative James Talarico. Talarico was projected to win his race just minutes before Hinojosa’s victory was called.
Donald Trump placed the responsibility for Abbott’s defeat squarely on the governor in a post on Truth Social.
He wrote: ‘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. He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!’
In the final days before voting, Abbott held only a three-point advantage over Hinojosa, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. The same collection of surveys showed Talarico with a narrow lead over Paxton.
The governor’s race also attracted a major late influx of campaign cash. Abbott raised $26 million between September 25 and October 24, The Texas Tribune reported.
Democratic Texas gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa speaks at a campaign rally in Dallas on Thursday, as polling suggested she was within striking distance of Republican Governor Greg Abbott
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks with reporters after voting on the first day of early voting in Del Valle, Texas
Although Hinojosa generally trailed Talarico by several points, she ultimately held on to defeat Abbott, who had received Trump’s endorsement, while Talarico flipped Texas’ junior Senate seat for the Democrats by defeating Paxton.
Rather than allowing Abbott to define the contest through cultural issues, Hinojosa steered her campaign toward personal freedom and privacy, including opposition to Flock surveillance cameras.
Concerns about the cameras and the absence of clear regulation have crossed party lines, but Hinojosa made the issue a central part of her campaign in Texas.
In campaign advertisements and media interviews, Hinojosa blamed Abbott for the spread of Flock cameras, citing state funding and their use by the Department of Public Safety as evidence of the governor’s role.
‘It’s the governor’s agencies that answer to him, who are sending out this money and paying for these Flock cameras across the state,’ Hinojosa said in a September interview with the Tribune before Flock’s extensions.
Hinojosa, who entered the Texas House a decade ago and represents a liberal district in Austin, also sought to brush aside attacks portraying her as overly progressive.
‘They want to run an entire campaign saying I’m too woke. I plan to spend an entire campaign focused on the fact that working people are too broke,’ Hinojosa said in a campaign ad released in September.
‘I’m Gina Hinojosa. My pronouns are mom, Texan and soon-to-be governor,’ she said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott attends an NCAA college football game in Texas before Election Day
A neon display featuring Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa appears at Voto Latino’s ‘Ready, Go, Vote’ rally in Weslaco last week
She repeatedly challenged Abbott over his decision not to debate her during the campaign.
Hinojosa also attacked the governor’s backing of school vouchers, arguing that the policy could drain resources from public schools in rural Texas.
Her campaign further pushed Abbott to reconsider his earlier support for expanding data centers across the state.
In response, Abbott called for an audit of proposed data center developments and urged a temporary halt to connecting those projects to Texas’ power grid.
Before Election Day, Hinojosa went to court in her role as a state legislator to seek the release of communications between Abbott and Elon Musk. Musk’s companies, including SpaceX, have extensive operations in Texas.
Musk has become a frequent target for Democrats since supporting Trump in the 2024 election and serving as the public face of the Department of Government Efficiency.
‘Greg Abbott is embarrassed that those emails are going to show that he sold us out,’ Hinojosa said while campaigning.
Trump mentioned Abbott during recent campaign appearances in Texas, but devoted most of his attention to Paxton’s Senate race, where Republican prospects appeared more uncertain.
Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa addresses supporters at Voto Latino’s ‘Ready, Go, Vote’ rally in Weslaco last week
Join the discussion
What could Gina Hinojosa’s stunning victory mean for the future of Texas politics and its core values?
In the run-up to Election Day, Abbott traveled across Texas in an effort to energize Republican voters and increase turnout.
The tour, titled ‘Let’s Roll,’ played on the governor’s long-standing use of a wheelchair after he was injured in an accident in the 1980s.
His campaign also distributed ‘Governor Hot Wheels’ bumper stickers, a reference to a nickname given to Abbott by Democratic Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett. Crockett said the nickname was not intended to mock his disability.
Abbott promoted what he called an ‘affordability agenda,’ claiming his policies would reduce annual living costs by more than $4,000 for the average Texas family.
At the same time, he made Hinojosa’s positions on social issues a central target of his attacks.
‘She’s promoting young children changing their sex,’ he said at a campaign appearance in Beaumont in mid-October. ‘That’s crazy.’
‘She even wanted to allow our public schools to transition the sex of our children behind their parents’ backs,’ he added.
In later remarks, Abbott claimed that children in schools under Democratic leadership were being ‘transgendered.’
