Texas turns blue at the top: Gina Hinojosa unseats Greg Abbott to become the state’s first Latina governor, and James Talarico beats Ken Paxton for the Senate
Democrat Gina Hinojosa, a state legislator from Austin, defeated Republican Governor Greg Abbott in Tuesday’s election, Infobae reported on Wednesday, November 4. She will be the first Latina governor of Texas and the first Democrat to hold the office since Ann Richards, who was elected in 1990. On the same night, Democrat James Talarico won a US Senate seat in Texas by defeating Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, according to Infobae and Al Jazeera.
An upset few predicted
Abbott was seeking a fourth term. He had won his two previous re-elections by more than ten points and, according to ABC13 figures cited by Infobae, spent about $180 million on this campaign. As of October 1, the Cook Political Report rated the race as leaning Republican. Hinojosa received little national backing from her party and campaigned on corruption, the cost of living and public education. Infobae also reported that Elon Musk spent tens of millions of dollars supporting Republicans without reversing the trend.
Infobae did not publish vote shares or say which organisation first projected the result. Abbott called Hinojosa to concede and congratulate her, and offered to cooperate on the transition. She is due to take office in January 2027.
The reaction from the White House was harsh. President Donald Trump blamed Abbott for the loss, calling him a “RINO” (Republican in Name Only) and saying the governor “went back to his original formula”, Al Jazeera reported.
Who is Gina Hinojosa
Hinojosa was born in McAllen, in the Rio Grande Valley, and grew up in Brownsville. She studied at the University of Texas and earned her law degree at George Washington University, then worked as a civil rights and labour lawyer. She entered politics on the Austin Independent School District board, which elected her president in 2015, and has served five consecutive terms in the Texas House since 2017.
Her main pledges include removing Education Commissioner Mike Morath on her first day, ending no-bid state contracts, and paying a one-off $1,500 rebate to every resident from the state’s emergency savings fund. She has also questioned the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centres because of their energy use. Abbott had ordered a temporary pause on new approvals during the campaign.
In her victory speech, quoted by Infobae, Hinojosa said: “Texas belongs to Texans,” adding that “we did not end one-party rule just to start another.” She said the trust voters had placed in her “is not a blank check” but “a sacred responsibility”, and recalled her grandmother’s advice: “No te dejes” (“Don’t let them push you around”).
Why it matters beyond Texas
Texas is the largest Republican-run state and a pillar of the party’s power in Washington. The two Texas results were part of a national swing that gave Democrats control of both the House and the Senate. Al Jazeera reported that rising petrol and grocery prices, linked by many voters to the war with Iran, were the dominant concern. A Democratic governor will hold veto power over Texas legislation, while Republicans’ standing in the state legislature was not reported in the sources consulted.
Confirmed and pending
Confirmed: Hinojosa’s win and Abbott’s concession call, reported by Infobae; Talarico’s defeat of Paxton, reported by Infobae and Al Jazeera. Pending: final vote counts and margins, and official certification.
Featured image: the Texas State Capitol in Austin. Photo by Justin Wallace on Unsplash (Unsplash License). Illustrative image.
Sources
- Infobae: Gina Hinojosa defeats Greg Abbott and becomes Texas’s first Latina governor (Spanish)
- Al Jazeera: Democrats deliver a historic routing to Republicans in US midterms
- Al Jazeera: Democrats win Congress: how they did it, and what it means
Mary del Castillo · World · Virtual editorial byline
English adaptation: Lin Wei · Editorial direction: Leonidas Ferraz · November 4, 2026 · AI-assisted writing
