Democrat Gina Hinojosa Defeats Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2026 Race

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa defeated Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in the 2026 governor's race, NBC projected.

The victory marks the first time a Democrat has won the office in more than three decades and makes Hinojosa the state's first Hispanic governor as well as the first Latina to lead the nation's second-most populous state.

Abbott told supporters he had conceded and congratulated Hinojosa on the win.

Hinojosa centered her campaign on affordability and public schools while accusing Abbott of favoring his wealthy donors on issues such as data-center construction and of neglecting rising costs for families.

Voters never saw a debate between the two candidates. Hinojosa staged one outside the Governor's Mansion in mid-October after Abbott declined her invitations.

Hinojosa grew up near the U.S.-Mexico border, served as Austin school board president and entered the Legislature after working to keep her son's elementary school open.

The last Democrat to hold the office was Ann Richards.

Verified Facts

Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Texas Governor Greg Abbott in the 2026 governor's race. (Bloomberg News, CBS News, NBC News, Fox News, PBS NewsHour, The Guardian)
Hinojosa's victory marks a historic shift in Texas politics, making her the first Democrat elected governor of the state in more than three decades. (CBS News)
Hinojosa’s projected victory will make her the state’s first Hispanic governor. (NBC News)
Abbott could have become Texas’ longest-serving governor had he won. (NBC News)
Before becoming a legislator, Hinojosa was a civil rights and labor lawyer. (NBC News, Fox News)
Hinojosa also made history as the first Latina governor of the nation's second most populous state. (Fox News, PBS NewsHour)
Abbott shared with his audience of supporters that he conceded to Hinojosa, congratulating her for winning the election. (Fox News)
Hinojosa focused on affordability, public education and other issues affecting Texas families throughout her campaign. (CBS News)
Hinojosa criticized Abbott's leadership and argued that voters were more concerned about rising costs than political divisions. (CBS News)
Hinojosa questioned Abbott's commitment to restrictions on new state permits for facilities and joined other Democrats in calling for a moratorium until lawmakers could establish additional protections for residents. (CBS News)
Hinojosa opposed Abbott on education issues and advocated for greater investment in public schools, including higher teacher salaries and changes to the state's standardized testing system. (CBS News)
Changing demographics and a steadily worsening political environment for Republicans across the country and in Texas took their toll on Abbott. (NBC News)
Hinojosa credited work to stop her son's elementary school from closing because of state budget cuts as her inspiration to seek elected office. (NBC News)
Hinojosa pledged over the summer that one of her first actions as governor would be to fire the state's education commissioner, citing declining student performances across Texas. (NBC News)
Abbott ordered the state to stop approving data center permits in September while an audit was conducted of data centers' effect on Texas' electrical grid. (NBC News)
Hinojosa charged in ads that Abbott was doing the bidding of his billionaire donors and selling out Texas by supporting data center construction. (NBC News)
Hinojosa, a fluent Spanish speaker, connected with Latino voters who make up around one-third of the state's electorate by releasing bilingual TV ads and holding town hall meetings in Spanish. (NBC News)
Voters never saw a single debate between Hinojosa and Abbott. (NBC News)
Hinojosa criticized Abbott for not responding to debate invitations and eventually staged a debate outside the Governor's Mansion in mid-October. (NBC News)
Hinojosa framed her bid as a fight against the billionaires and the corporations who she accused of driving up prices, closing neighborhood schools and cheating Texans out of basic healthcare. (Fox News)
Abbott pushed a strict conservative platform including tighter border security, strict abortion restrictions, school choice vouchers, expanded gun rights, and lower business regulations. (Fox News)
Abbott primarily ran for re-election on economic issues with his Keep Texas Affordable agenda and launched his re-election campaign with a promise to slash rising property taxes in Texas in the next legislative session. (Fox News)
Abbott unveiled a plan which he said would lower the cost of healthcare, housing, home and auto insurance, electricity, and even higher education. (Fox News)
Abbott framed his candidacy as a fight against the rising influence of socialism in American politics. (Fox News)
Hinojosa gradually fought her way into contention with some polls showing the race neck-in-neck. (The Guardian)
Hinojosa is a former Austin school board president. (The Guardian)
Public education is the issue that drew Hinojosa into the race. (The Guardian)
Hinojosa's campaign widened to focus on affordability issues and her opposition to the expansion of large-scale data centers. (The Guardian)
Under Abbott, Texas has become a leading state in the nation for data center construction. (The Guardian)
Abbott sought to portray Hinojosa as too woke for Texas, attacking her in Trumpian terms as gender-bender Hinojosa. (The Guardian)
Hinojosa countered the culture-war attacks on her with an ad declaring her pronouns: Mom, Texan and soon-to-be governor. (The Guardian)
Hinojosa grew up along the US-Mexico border. (The Guardian)
Hinojosa's mother is an immigrant from Mexico. (The Guardian)
Hinojosa's father served for several years as the state Democratic party chair. (The Guardian)
Hinojosa's sister Xochitl Hinojosa is a long-time Democratic operative who previously served as spokesperson for the Department of Justice. (The Guardian)
NBC called the Texas governor race for Hinojosa. (Bloomberg News)
The last Democrat to hold the Texas governor's office was Ann Richards. (CBS News, PBS NewsHour)
Hinojosa will become the third woman to serve as governor of Texas, following Ann Richards. (CBS News)
Hinojosa is a state representative from Austin. (Bloomberg News, CBS News)
Abbott first took office. (CBS News)
Hinojosa was elected to the state House. (NBC News)
Hinojosa will be the first Latina governor of the state, and the first Democrat elected to the Texas governorship in years. (The Guardian)
Hinojosa, a state representative from Austin, entered the governor’s race with little fanfare after other prominent Democrats declined to run against Abbott. (The Guardian)
Even high-profile challenges ended in defeat. (The Guardian)