LONE STAR STATE SHOCKER: Gina Hinojosa Defeats Greg Abbott, Democrats Sweep Statewide Races

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, left, and Democratic Senate candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico, right, held a campaign rally in Austin, Texas, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Democrat Texas State Rep. Gina Hinojosa has defeated incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, as her fellow Democrats appeared to be sweeping the statewide races and flipping the legislature, shocking many political observers even in an anti-incumbent midterm election.

CNN called the race for Hinojosa just after 11:00 pm ET, following a call for Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D) to win the Senate race over Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). Talarico’s win was far more expected even in Texas, which had not elected a Democrat to a statewide race in decades, due to Paxton’s many scandals and stumbling campaign.

Most polls showed Abbott with a small but steady lead for months, although a few did show Hinojosa slightly ahead, but still within the margin of error. Abbott had a substantial fundraising and name recognition advantage throughout the race, outspending Hinojosa by about ten-to-one. Still, Republicans across the country were dragged down by anti-incumbent sentiment and President Donald Trump’s abysmal polling, and Abbott stumbled over the data center issue and had not had to run a competitive race in years.

Abbott has conceded the race; Austin-based Quorum report editor Scott Braddock posted a video from the Houston Democrats’ Election Night watch party reacting to the governor’s remarks.

As Tuesday evening rolled into Wednesday morning, Democrats were winning or projected to win a growing list of the statewide races, turning what began as a flip of the Senate seat for Talarico to a potential sweep for the blue team.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX, who ran in the Republican primary for Texas Attorney General and lost to Texas State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R) in a runoff, reacted to the obliteration of his party, telling Mediaite, “Texas leadership failed to address the actual needs of voters — from healthcare to housing, data centers and everything in between.”

Roy further criticized the Texas GOP for “focusing on attacking Talarico in order to cover for a Republican nominee that every model showed was losing voters.”

“The result, while drastic, should not shock,” he concluded.

A longtime Texas Republican operative, who spoke to Mediaite anonymously in order to speak freely, pointed to problems with down-ballot candidates that soured voters on the party, specifically Bo French, the Railroad Commissioner candidate who made national headlines for a racist post he wrote about students at a University of Texas at Austin Longhorns football game.

“People like Bo French were campaigning on an ethnic cleanse,” said the operative. “Tonight, Texas voters let Tim Dunn’s crew see what an ethics cleanse looks like. After tonight’s bloodbath, there’s a whole network of folks who are going to be lawyer hunting, because once Dems start digging through the mess they’ve made, Ken Paxton’s going to be running for Prison next cycle.”

Democrats are “on track to hold 87 or 88 seats in the Texas House,” reported Quorum Report early Wednesday morning, which would be completely reversing the 86-62 majority Republicans held before the election, and could potentially flip the Texas Senate as well. Texas State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D) has already filed to run for Speaker, according to Braddock.

According to the election results reported by The Texas Tribune, Democrats are ahead in all of the following races (several third party and independent candidates who received less than 2% of the votes have been omitted):

Lieutenant Governor (83.13% reporting, according to AP)
Vicki Goodwin (D) 51.9%
Dan Patrick (R, incumbent) 45.6%

Attorney General (82.93% reporting, according to AP)
Nathan Johnson (D) 52.5%
Mayes Middleton (R) 45.9%

Comptroller (82.56% reporting, according to AP)
Sarah Eckhardt (D) 51.5%
Don Huffines (R, incumbent) 46.1%

Railroad Commissioner (82.2% reporting, according to AP)
Jon Rosenthal (D) 52.7%
Bo French (R) 45.5%

Land Commissioner (82.76% reporting, according to AP)
Benjamin Flores (D) 51.6%
Dawn Buckingham (R, incumbent) 46.9%

Agriculture Commissioner (82.11% reporting, according to AP)
Clayton Tucker (D) 51.4%
Nate Sheets (R) 46.7%

KXAS, Dallas-Fort Worth’s NBC affiliate, reported that Democrats were also winning by similar margins the race for Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice, all three Texas Supreme Court Justice races on the ballot, all three Texas Criminal Appeals Court races, and several other appellate judicial races.

Lt. Gov. Patrick conceded the race early Wednesday, issuing a statement saying that it was “a wave election in Texas and across the country.”

“Whether it was about affordability, gas prices, data centers, 765-kV lines, or any other issue important to them, I respect how the people voted,” Patrick continued. “It was a fair election, and I accept the majority will of the voters.”

This is a breaking news story and has been updated.

The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
The single summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting from both sides of the aisle. Subscribe now!