Democrat Gina Hinojosa has defeated Greg Abbott to become the next governor of Texas, unseating a three-term Republican incumbent in one of the most striking upsets of the 2026 midterm elections. The Associated Press called the race for Hinojosa on Tuesday night, and Abbott conceded later that evening, ending his bid for an unprecedented fourth term.
Hinojosa, 52, is a state representative from Austin who has served in the Texas House since 2017. She will become the first Latina to lead Texas and the first Democrat elected governor of the state since Ann Richards won in 1990. Richards left office in 1995, and no Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994, the longest such drought in the country.
Abbott, 68, has held the governor’s office since January 2015, making him one of the longest-serving governors in Texas history. His campaign had emphasised border security, property tax relief and his record in office, but Hinojosa built her challenge around public education and household costs, arguing that ordinary Texans were being squeezed by rising prices and underfunded schools.
The result caps a remarkable night for Texas Democrats. Alongside Hinojosa’s victory, the party also won the state’s US Senate race, a seat it had not held for nearly four decades. Together, the two wins signal a sharp shift in a state long regarded as a Republican stronghold, and one that former President Donald Trump carried by more than 13 points in 2024.
Trump reacted to Abbott’s defeat by blaming the outgoing governor himself, writing on social media that Abbott had become a “RINO” — Republican in name only — in the final months of his time in office. The comment underlined how quickly the night’s losses have turned into recriminations inside the Republican Party, even as Democrats celebrated a result few forecasters had predicted.
Hinojosa is scheduled to take office in January 2027 for a four-year term. Her victory gives Democrats control of the governor’s mansion in the country’s second-largest state for the first time in a generation, and it hands her a legislature and a state government long shaped by Republican rule. How far she can translate an upset win into governing power will be one of the defining tests of the next Texas legislature.
Sources: Reuters, “Texas Governor Abbott loses bid for fourth term” (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/texas-governor-abbott-loses-bid-fourth-term-2026-11-04/); Associated Press election results, Governor, Texas (https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/?ap_doc=ap%2Frg1%2FWyJhcC92Mi8yMDI2MTEwMy9sLzQ1OTAxL1RYL3MiLFsiMTUyMDI3IiwiNDE0MDQiXV0); AP via Scripps News, “Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeats Greg Abbott in historic Texas governor upset” (https://www.tampabay28.com/politics/america-votes/democrat-gina-hinojosa-wins-election-for-governor-in-texas).
