Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the Texas governor's race on Tuesday, Nov. 3, The Associated Press reported.

The AP declared Hinojosa the winner at 11:17 p.m. EST, according to PBS NewsHour. She will be Texas' first Latina governor and the first Democrat to win the office since 1990.

Galveston County told a different story. Early returns showed Abbott carrying the county with about 53.82% of the vote to Hinojosa's 44.82%, the Galveston County Daily News reported. Libertarian Pat Dixon received about 1.36% locally. Those figures were partial and did not represent a final count.

The split mirrored a pattern across several statewide races. Democrats led statewide in early returns for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and U.S. Senate, while Republicans held leads in those same contests in Galveston County, according to the Daily News.

What the race means

The result marks an upset. Abbott had served as governor since 2015 and was seeking a fourth term. He won re-election by more than 10 points four years ago, Time reported.

Hinojosa, a five-term state representative from Austin's House District 49, won the Democratic primary on March 3, according to the Austin American-Statesman. She previously served on the Austin Independent School District board and has represented her district in the Texas House since 2017, according to KSAT.

David Crockett, a political science professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, said before the election that a Hinojosa win "would be perceived as an earthquake" after decades of Republican statewide victories, NPR reported.

Issues that hit home

The candidates offered different approaches on property taxes, education and household costs.

Abbott campaigned on property tax relief, border security and expanding school choice, according to KSAT. He championed the state's education savings account program, which allows eligible families to use public money for private school or homeschool expenses.

Hinojosa centered her campaign on public school funding, affordability and government accountability. She proposed a $1,500 payment to every Texas household, which she called a "corruption tax refund," and called for suspending the state gas tax, according to the Statesman.

Major changes to education funding, taxes and other laws would require cooperation from the Republican-controlled Legislature, KSAT reported. Hinojosa will serve a four-year term beginning in January 2027, according to KPRC.

Record voter registration

Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden announced a record 19,041,684 registered voters ahead of the election. That figure represents a 2.2% increase from the November 2024 general election.

League City voters also weighed in on local races Nov. 3, including mayor, five City Council seats and Proposition A, a nonbinding measure on whether police should continue using Flock Safety license plate reader cameras, according to the city's elections page.