In one of the most stunning upsets of election night, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas, making her the first Latina to lead the state and the first Democratic governor since 1990, according to CNN and NBC News.
Hinojosa, 52, a five-term Austin lawmaker, was considered a longshot candidate against Abbott, a three-term incumbent who has never won reelection by fewer than 11 points. Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan organization that analyzes elections, rated the race as "lean Republican" as of Oct. 1.
"Tonight, I make a solemn promise to every single Texan. Whether you voted for me or Governor Abbott, or felt so betrayed by a broken politics that you did not vote at all," Hinojosa said in a post on X.
"Hear what Texas said today, loud and clear: Your government belongs to you. And as your governor, I will never forget it. There will be no special set of rules for the wealthy and powerful. No looking the other way when someone in my own party does wrong. The trust you have placed in me tonight is not a blank check. It is a sacred responsibility. And I intend to earn it every single day."
Hinojosa, who was born in McAllen, Texas, a city near the U.S.-Mexico border and raised in Brownsville, a city at the southernmost tip of the state, is part of an influential Democratic family. Her father, Gilberto Hinojosa, served as chair of the state's Democratic Party from 2012 to 2025.
Hispanic leaders across the country long pressured Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, the president of the Democratic Governors' Association, to invest $10 million into Hinojosa's races.
Beshear in September told USA TODAY that Hinojosa was "a great candidate" and noted that the DGA was already underwriting some of her campaign expenses. But during the September interview, Bashear gave no sign he would be sending her a check instead of Democratic gubernatorial candidates with stronger odds of flipping GOP seats states such as Iowa, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Alaska.
Overall, Democrats had huge wins in the Lone Star State, a Republican stronghold that hadn't elected a Democrat to statewide office in roughy 30 years.
Democrat James Talarico defeated Repubican Attorney General Ken Paxton, flipping the state's U.S. Senate seat.
For years, the Democratic Party hoped the state would go into play as it became more diverse.
The predominately-Hispanic Rio Grande Valley, where McAllen and Brownsville are located, was a longtime Democratic stronghold that flipped for President Donald Trump during the 2024 election. Ahead of the midterm election, polling showed a shift among Latino voters, especially those in South Texas who were critical of rising costs and the president's aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.
Hispanic voters account for more than a third of Texas’ electorate, the second largest portion of any state behind New Mexico.
In 2024, Trumpwon 55% of the Latino vote in the state, a 13-percentage-point increase from 2020, a record high for a Republican presidential candidate and a 27-percentage-point increase over 2016, according to data from theTexas Politics Project.
Contributing: Susan Page, Mateo Rosiles and Arit John
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gina Hinojosa makes history as first Latina governor of Texas
