Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa has defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, ending Democrats’ 36-year losing streak in Texas gubernatorial elections.
Hinojosa’s win also makes her the first Latina to serve as governor of the nation’s second most populous state. Abbott conceded and congratulated her, telling supporters that serving as governor had been “the joy of my life.”
A former president of the Austin public school system and a civil rights lawyer, Hinojosa centered her campaign on public school funding, teacher pay, opposition to school vouchers, a pause on new data centers and relief for household budgets. She cast the race as a fight against wealthy individuals and corporations, arguing they were driving up prices, closing neighborhood schools and limiting Texans’ access to basic health care.
Abbott, a conservative and close ally of President Donald Trump, pursued a strict agenda during his time in office, including tighter border security, abortion restrictions, school vouchers, expanded gun rights and fewer business regulations.
His re-election campaign focused largely on affordability. Abbott promised to cut property taxes in the next legislative session and later proposed measures he said would reduce costs for health care, housing, insurance, electricity and higher education. He also portrayed his campaign as a defense against the growing influence of socialism.
Although Abbott is closely aligned with Trump, he broke with the president over the expansion of artificial intelligence data centers. Hinojosa, meanwhile, made Abbott’s connection to Trump a central campaign issue, accusing both men of taking part in institutional corruption and anti-democratic power grabs.
