Democrat Gina Hinojosa Defeats Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas Governor's Race

Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the Texas governor's race on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, according to projections by CNN and NBC, making her the state's first Latina governor. HuffPost reported that as of 11:10 p.m. ET she had 57.1% of the vote to Abbott's 41.7%. She is the first Democrat to win the office since Ann Richards in 1990, and Abbott had sought an unprecedented fourth term. Hinojosa, 52, is a five-term state representative from Austin and a former Austin school board member. She ran on public school funding, higher teacher pay, healthcare costs and protections against data centers, and criticized Abbott's billionaire donors and a school voucher program he helped lead in 2025. Late last week, the Real Clear Politics average had Abbott three points ahead. Abbott raised $26 million from Sept. 25 to Oct. 24, The Texas Tribune reported. Democrat James Talarico was projected to win the Senate race over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton minutes earlier. Abbott first took office in 2015.

The right-leaning Daily Mail frames the result as a loss for a Trump-endorsed incumbent in a "blue wave", dwelling on polls, fundraising and Paxton dragging down Republicans, with Talarico's Senate win in the foreground. The Blaze leads with border and immigration instead, calling Hinojosa an open-borders Democrat who backed taxpayer-funded health care for people in the country illegally and sanctuary cities, and crediting Abbott with leading through the Biden border crisis; it says Abbott called her on election night. The left-leaning Guardian and HuffPost emphasize the historic and upset nature of the win, her long-shot start and her education and populist message, and give little space to border issues. All sides agree on the result and the 1990 Richards benchmark; they differ on whether the story is about Republican weakness, Hinojosa's policy positions or her breakthrough. NewsNation's alternative coverage focuses on what she has said about the border and illegal crossings.