# Gina Hinojosa **Gina Hinojosa** is an Austin Democrat who defeated Republican Gov. [[Greg Abbott]] on November 3, 2026, in one of the biggest upsets of the midterm elections. The Associated Press projected her win, and Abbott, who was seeking a fourth term, conceded at about 10 p.m. She will be **Texas's first Latina governor** and the **first Democrat elected governor of Texas since [[Ann Richards]] in 1990**. A civil rights and labor lawyer and former president of the Austin school board, she has represented central Austin in the Texas House since winning her seat in 2016, and she built her campaign around public schools and against Abbott's private-school voucher program. > [!success] Election result > The Associated Press projected on November 3, 2026 that Hinojosa defeated Abbott, a Democratic pickup. Vote totals are unofficial until Texas certifies the result. Full race context: [[TX-Gov-2026]]. Live coverage: [[2026 Midterms Live - Election Results War Room]]. ## Background - **Rio Grande Valley roots.** She was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley and went to high school in Brownsville (Texas House biography, Axios, KPRC). Axios reported that she is the daughter of legal-aid lawyers from Mission and that her father, Gilberto Hinojosa, chaired the Texas Democratic Party for 12 years. - **Education.** She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and earned her law degree at George Washington University (Texas House biography, Axios). - **Lawyer.** She worked as a civil rights and labor lawyer representing union members (Texas House biography, CBS Texas, KPRC). - **Austin school board.** She ran for the Austin ISD board in 2012 to keep her son's elementary school from closing, and her colleagues made her board president (Texas House biography, Axios, KPRC). - **Texas House.** She won a seven-way Democratic primary for a central Austin seat outright in 2016 and was serving her fifth term when she ran for governor (Texas House biography, KPRC). She has served on the House Public Education Committee and chaired the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee (Texas House biography). ## Fight with Abbott over vouchers Public education was the through-line of her career and her campaign. She opposed Abbott's program of taxpayer-funded accounts for private-school tuition, which Axios reported she called a "scam" (CBS Texas, Axios, KPRC). When Abbott questioned on social media whether she could be trusted on education, citing her time leading the Austin school board, she answered on X: "Call me a liar to my face" (Axios). ## The 2026 campaign - **Launch.** She entered the race on October 15, 2025 with a message aimed at economic power: "Our fight right now is against billionaires and corporations who are driving up prices. That's who Abbott works for" (CBS Texas). Her first campaign event was in the Rio Grande Valley. - **Long odds.** In mid-2025 she had less than $25,000 in her campaign account against more than $86 million for Abbott (Axios). In March, KUT reported that no major Texas poll gave her a chance, while noting Abbott's approval had fallen to 32 percent in January. - **Primary.** She won the March 3, 2026 Democratic primary over eight opponents, including former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell (KUT). EMILY's List backed her. - **The choice she posed.** She framed the race this way: "Is this going to be a Texas that is by and for the people, or is this the billionaires' world and we just live here?" (KPRC). - **Same-night Senate flip.** Democrat [[James Talarico]] won the Texas Senate race the same night, giving Democrats both of the state's top races ([[TX-Sen-2026]]). ## Connections - [[TX-Gov-2026]] — the race she won - [[Greg Abbott]] — the three-term Republican governor she defeated - [[Ann Richards]] — the last Democrat elected governor of Texas, in 1990 - [[James Talarico]] — Texas's Democratic Senate winner the same night - [[2026 Governor Races Hub]] — every governor's race on the 2026 ballot - [[2026 Midterms Live - Election Results War Room]] — election-night coverage ## Sources - [KPRC 2 Houston — Gina Hinojosa wins Texas governor's race (AP race call)](https://www.click2houston.com/decision-2026/2026/11/04/gina-hinojosa-wins-texas-governors-race-first-democrat-in-36-years/) - [KPRC 2 Houston — Democrat Gina Hinojosa topples Greg Abbott to become first Latina governor of Texas](https://www.click2houston.com/news/texas/2026/11/04/democrat-gina-hinojosa-topples-greg-abbott-to-become-first-latina-governor-of-texas/) - [Texas House of Representatives — Rep. Gina Hinojosa biography](https://house.texas.gov/members/3210/biography) - [CBS Texas — Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa joins race for Texas governor](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/texas/news/democrat-rep-gina-hinojosa-joins-race-texas-governor) - [Axios Austin — Austin Democrat Gina Hinojosa eyes run for Texas governor](https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2025/09/26/gina-hinojosa-austin-democrat-campaign-texas-governor) - [KUT — Gina Hinojosa wins Democratic nomination, will face Gov. Greg Abbott](https://www.kut.org/news/2026-03-03/texas-rep-gina-hinojosa-wins-democratic-nomination-will-face-gov-greg-abbott-in-november) - [EMILY's List — Gina Hinojosa](https://emilyslist.org/candidate/gina-hinojosa/)