did gina hinojosa win: Democrat Defeats Texas Governor Greg Abbott

Yes, according to election reports, Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the Texas governor race, defeating Republican incumbent Greg Abbott.

The Associated Press declared Hinojosa the winner at 11:17 p.m. EST. She was the Democratic state representative from Austin who was set to become Texas’s first Latina governor and the first Democratic governor since Ann Richards, who left office in 1995.

Hinojosa was set to take office in January 2027. The victory denied Abbott a fourth term. Abbott, a Republican, had first won election in 2014 and was seeking an unprecedented fourth term.

Official results and coverage

According to PBS News, Hinojosa won election Tuesday as governor of Texas, defeating Republican incumbent Greg Abbott. The Associated Press declared Hinojosa the winner at 11:17 p.m. EST.

According to NPR, Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, ending more than three decades of Republican control of the Texas governor’s office. NBC News also projected Hinojosa’s victory.

What the campaign focused on

Hinojosa’s campaign centered on public education, household costs and criticism of the state’s Republican leadership. She opposed the private-school voucher program championed by Abbott that began in 2026 with 1 billion dollars in tax money for students attending private schools, according to NPR. She pledged to replace Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath with an educator.

Abbott promised to lower property taxes and said he had made Texas safer, in part by securing the border.

Context and key campaign issues

Education

Hinojosa’s political career included work as a civil rights and labor lawyer and as Austin school board president. She grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. She credited work to stop her son’s elementary school from closing due to state budget cuts with inspiring her to seek elected office.

Education funding and reform were major issues in the campaign. Hinojosa pledged that one of her first actions as governor would be to fire the state education commissioner, citing declining student performance across Texas.

Data centers

Hinojosa criticized Abbott on data centers, which were a big issue in rural areas. Texas was home to more than 500 data centers, making it the second-highest in the nation, according to NBC News.

Abbott had walked back some support for data center development. In September, he ordered the state to stop approving data center permits while an audit was conducted on the effect on the Texas electrical grid. Hinojosa had charged in ads that Abbott was doing the bidding of billionaire donors and selling out Texas by supporting data center construction.

What happens next

Hinojosa was set to take office in January 2027. Abbott had offered assistance with the transition, and Hinojosa thanked him and his family for years of service, according to the KVUE transcript.

She was expected to face a Republican-led legislature. A political science professor at Trinity University said before the election that a win by Hinojosa would be perceived as an earthquake after decades of Republican statewide victories, but that meaningful legislation would be difficult. A political science lecturer at the University of Houston said before Election Day that a Democratic breakthrough would reflect frustration with Washington.

The Associated Press declared Hinojosa the winner at 11:17 p.m. EST. Hinojosa’s win marked an upset victory for Democrats.