By Ahmed Abdelsalam
Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa has defeated three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the 2026 Texas gubernatorial election, NBC News projected on Nov. 3, marking the first Democratic governor in Texas since 1995 and the state's first Hispanic governor.
Historic Victory
Hinojosa, a former civil rights and labor lawyer from the Rio Grande Valley, won despite being outspent by tens of millions of dollars. Her victory ends three decades of Republican control of the governorship in a state that has long been considered reliably red.
Campaign Dynamics
Education funding was a pillar of Hinojosa's campaign, driven by her experience preventing her son's elementary school from closing due to state budget cuts. She pledged to fire the state's education commissioner as one of her first acts, citing declining student performance. Abbott, who could have become Texas' longest-serving governor, faced a deteriorating political environment for Republicans nationally and in Texas, where several GOP nominees were embroiled in personal scandals.
Data Centers and Rural Voters
Data centers emerged as a key issue, with Texas hosting over 500 such facilities, the second-highest number in the country. Hinojosa accused Abbott of "doing the bidding of his billionaire donors" and "selling out Texas" by supporting data center construction. Abbott had ordered a halt to new data center permits in September pending an audit of their impact on the electrical grid, but friction with rural voters over the issue persisted.
Latino Outreach and Cultural Issues
Hinojosa, a fluent Spanish speaker, connected with Latino voters, who comprise about one-third of the electorate, through bilingual television ads and Spanish-language town halls. Abbott attacked Hinojosa as "radical," labeling her "Gender Bender Gina" over her past support for transgender female athletes and gender-affirming care for minors. Hinojosa countered with an ad stating, "They want to run an entire campaign saying that I'm too woke. I plan to spend an entire campaign focused on the fact that working people are too broke."
No Debates
The candidates never held a formal debate. Hinojosa criticized Abbott for declining debate invitations and eventually staged a solo event outside the Governor's Mansion in mid-October.
