Democrat Gina Hinojosa Ousts Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas, Ending Decades of Republican Leadership

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been defeated by Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Gina Hinojosa, a stunning loss that marks the end of a long streak of GOP leadership in the state.Texas has been led by Republican governors since 1995, when George W. Bush defeated then incumbent Democratic Gov. Ann Richards. Richards was the last Democrat to win a governor’s race in the state, in 1990.Hinojosa will also become the first Hispanic governor to lead Texas, which hosts the largest Latino population in the United States.The AP called the race for Hinojosa Tuesday night.During a concession speech Tuesday night, Abbott said that he had congratulated Hinojosa and thanked his staff and family for allowing him to become governor for 12 years.“I love our state. It has been an honor to serve it,” Abbott said.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to the media after casting his ballot in the midterm elections outside Travis County Community Center in Del Valle, Texas, on October 19, 2026. Sergio Flores—Getty ImagesThe projected victory comes despite Republicans’ significant spending edge in the race. The Texas Tribune reported that Abbott has outspent Hinojosa nearly eight-to-one: According to campaign finance filings, his campaign dispensed $281 million to Hinojosa’s $36.8 million over the past year, from Hinojosa’s campaign launch on Oct. 15, 2025, to the end of this most recent reporting period. Abbott’s spending this cycle also more than doubles his $131 million outlay over the course his 2022 bid.Abbott, who has been governor of Texas for three terms, previously spent more than a decade on the bench in Texas’ judicial system. In 1995, then-Gov. Bush appointed Abbott to the Texas Supreme Court. He was then re-elected twice in the late ’90s.He later served as the state’s attorney general for over a decade beginning in 20022, before running for Texas governor in 2014. He won the seat that year by over 20 points against state Sen. Wendy Davis.“​​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,” President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social following news of Abbott’s loss. “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!”Abbott is just one of a number of Republicans who have suffered defeats on Tuesday amid a wave of Democratic victories in long-red Texas that are sending shockwaves through the political world.In another major upset called not long before Hinojosa’s win, Democrat James Talarico has defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state’s closely watched Senate race, becoming the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas in more than 30 years.