Governor Greg Abbott has conceded the Texas governor’s race to Democrat Gina Hinojosa, and the Associated Press has now called the race for her. With 68.92 percent of precincts reporting, the AP count puts Hinojosa at 4,073,877 votes to Abbott’s 3,018,215 — a lead of more than a million votes that carried her past the governor who was seeking a record fourth term.
Abbott, ending 12 years in office, congratulated Hinojosa and offered to assist with the transition. In his concession remarks, he called leading Texas “the greatest honor I’ve ever had.”
Hinojosa, an Austin state representative, becomes the first Latina governor of Texas and the first Democrat elected to the office this century — Texas last chose a Democratic governor in 1994. For Texas families, Abbott’s 12-year run is over, and the state’s direction on schools, property taxes and the border now passes to a new administration in Austin.
— Previously posted on Tuesday, November 3, 2026 —
Texas's governor's race is leaning toward an upset late on Election Night. Democrat Gina Hinojosa, a state representative from Austin, leads Republican Governor Greg Abbott — who is seeking a fourth term — and the race remains too early to call, with millions of votes still being counted.
The Associated Press's count showed Hinojosa on 3,410,741 votes to Abbott's 2,615,638 — a lead of about 795,000 votes — with about 59 percent of precincts reporting. Decision Desk HQ's later update, with an estimated 69 percent of the vote in, had Hinojosa at 3,643,388 votes (53.0 percent) to Abbott's 3,147,594 (45.8 percent): the raw gap narrowed as more of the state reported, but her percentage lead held. CBS News estimates reported during the night said both Texas statewide races — governor and Senate — were leaning Democratic.
Texas has not elected a Democratic governor since 1994, and the Texas Tribune described the early returns as putting Democrats "within reach of reclaiming the governor's mansion for the first time this century." Hinojosa launched her campaign in her hometown of Brownsville in the Rio Grande Valley in October 2025 and ran on a "Fight Back" message built around public schools and the cost of living; Abbott, governor since 2015, is asking voters for a fourth term no Texas governor has won in the modern era. Neither campaign has claimed victory, and no major outlet has called the race.
For Texans, the outcome decides who runs the largest Republican-led state government in the country — its border operations, its schools and its power grid — and a Hinojosa win would end more than three decades of Republican control of the office. The count continues, and this story will be updated when the race is called.
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