First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
Democrats' sweep of Texas in Tuesday's midterm elections has put two conservative landmarks on the line: the Bible-infused curriculum in the state's public schools and the enforcement of its ban on abortion pills by mail. Democrats won the governor's office, the U.S. Senate seat, the lieutenant governor's office and the attorney general's office, flipped the Texas House and took control of the State Board of Education — the body that sets what 5.5 million public school students are taught.
In the governor's race, Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who conceded on Tuesday night. The Associated Press called the race at 10:17 p.m., with Hinojosa leading about 57 percent to 41 percent. She will become the first Democrat elected governor of Texas since Ann Richards in 1990, and the first Latina governor in the state's history. Hinojosa campaigned heavily on public education and the rising cost of living.
The other statewide wins piled up behind her. James Talarico won the U.S. Senate seat, defeating Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton; Vikki Goodwin declared victory over Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick; and Nathan Johnson won the attorney general's race. Democrats also flipped the Texas House of Representatives, while Republicans kept their majority in the state Senate.
The State Board of Education flipped as well. Democrats won five seats on the board — Districts 2, 4, 5, 6 and 13, according to Associated Press calls — more than the three gains they needed to take the board from its 10-5 Republican majority. The board reviews and adopts instructional materials, including the Bluebonnet Learning reading curriculum, and the social studies standards.
That matters because the board narrowly approved the Bible-infused Bluebonnet Learning curriculum in November 2024, by an 8-7 vote, and in June of this year approved Bible-infused social studies standards that put Christianity directly into mainstream classroom teaching for the state's 5.5 million public school students, with the changes set to roll out in the 2030-31 school year. With Democrats now holding the board, the curriculum and the standards can be revisited.
On abortion pills, the change is already taking shape through the attorney general's office. Johnson told the Texas Tribune that he will not enforce House Bill 7, the law signed last year that bars abortion pills from being circulated in Texas and allows civil suits against anyone who manufactures, distributes, mails, prescribes or provides them. "I will not pursue the judicially absurd position that Texas law has extra territorial effect," Johnson said, adding that he cannot change the law but can refuse to sue anyone under it — effectively allowing the pills to keep flowing into the state. His predecessor, Ken Paxton, had sued Aid Access for mailing abortion pills into Texas.
Hinojosa has said she would sign a bill repealing the state's abortion law if it came to her desk, though she has also said that would be unlikely because of the legislature — and while Democrats flipped the House, Republicans still hold the state Senate. She has said expanding abortion access "will not be a priority" for her as governor because it "takes way more than the election of a governor," but as governor she can veto bills, set legislative priorities and influence how laws like House Bill 7 are implemented. Hinojosa, who is pro-abortion and voted against the Texas Heartbeat Act, has said that when she is governor, Texas women will have the right to make their own choices "with privacy and dignity."
The scale of the Democratic wins has drawn warnings from conservatives. Texas Right to Life said the sweep threatens the state's pro-life laws, noting that the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general together determine whether those laws are passed, signed and defended in court. The group said a pro-abortion governor could veto new pro-life bills and fill state agencies with staff who would not fund pro-life charities.