Democrat Gina Hinojosa elected Texas' first Latina governor, ousts Republican incumbent Greg Abbott

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gina Hinojosa was elected the first Democratic governor of Texas in more than 30 years on Tuesday, ousting Republican incumbent Greg Abbott and catapulting a decided underdog to the helm of what has long been the nation's most populous red state.

She will become Texas' first Latina governor — and the first Democrat to hold the office since Ann Richards in the 1990s — following a groundbreaking victory that topples one of the nation's most prominent Republican governors and steadfast supporters of President Donald Trump, possibly accelerating the state’s shift to an emerging battleground.

Her victory was part of an electrifying night for Democrats in Texas, where James Talarico also won election, defeating Republican Ken Paxton in the race for the U.S. Senate.

Hinojosa's win served as validation for Democrats' long deferred dream that demographic changes in the state would be followed by a shift in political power. It also elevates Hinojosa, a 52-year-old state legislator from a liberal Austin district since 2017, into a breakout Democratic star, even as she did not have significant support from the national party for her campaign.

“It never bothered me that they doubted me. It bothered me that they doubted us,” Hinojosa told supporters at her victory party in Austin. “Texas, my faith in you never wavered.”

Jumping in the race with little money or name recognition, Hinojosa engineered a plucky and populist challenge, railing against artificial intelligence data centers and corruption to down Abbott. She also proved that money in politics has clear limits. Billionaire Elon Musk had spent tens of millions of dollars to back Republicans, and Abbott's campaign had spent $180 million since last year in what was thought to be a safe path to a fourth term.

But Hinojosa proved durable while simultaneously riding the tailwinds of Talarico's hard-charging Senate campaign, one of the nation's marquee races. Just two years after Trump carried the state by double digits, the upset is also a stark reflection of how a glum national mood dragged down Republicans even in a stronghold where Democrats had not won in decades.

Trump blamed Abbott for the loss in a striking criticism of one of his staunchest supporters, accusing him of becoming a “RINO,” or Republican in name only, in the last months of the race. “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!” Trump posted on social media.

Abbott, who had been seeking a record fourth term, said he called Hinojosa and pledged to help her transition into office.

“Leading this state has been the greatest honor I’ve ever had,” Abbott told supporters as he conceded the race.

On a national level, the loss will set off alarms for Republicans, who depend on winning Texas in presidential election years to maintain a path to the White House.

How Hinojosa governs is likely to open a dramatic political and cultural shift in the Texas Capitol, which over the last decade has passed one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws and increasingly aggressive immigration crackdowns.

Abbott, who first took office in 2015, won each of his previous races by double digits.

Then came Hinojosa, who started her campaign last year at a time when bigger-name Democrats seemed uneager to wade into the race.

From the start she accused Abbott of prioritizing the wealthy over everyday people and failing to bring down costs. Abbott said Hinojosa wanted to raise taxes and painted her as a radical and a threat to Texans' way of life.

One of Hinojosa's earliest campaign pledges was a one-time $1,500 payment to each of the state’s nearly 32 million residents that she called a “Corruption Tax Refund.” She said the money would come from Texas' massive emergency savings fund.

Hinojosa also seized on growing national rejection of data centers, accusing Abbott of allowing the energy-guzzling server warehouses to multiply. Abbott responded to public anger with a temporary moratorium on new data center approvals.

Hinojosa was once a proud vice chair of the Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus and defender of transgender rights, which became a centerpiece of Abbott's attacks.

She tried to shake off the progressive label throughout the campaign and batted away culture-war issues, presenting herself instead as a populist. Her campaign included ads featuring Republican voters saying they would support her.

At her victory party, Hinojosa told the crowd that “your life can be bigger than your dreams” in a speech that described her upbringing on the Texas-Mexico border and outlined her policy priorities, including fighting for public schools.

“Texas will bow down to no one,” she said.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Elon Musk's last name.

Attendees cheer at an election night event for Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Margaux Ochoa wears ear rings that show her support for Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa, center in white, speaks to supporters as she departs an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott hugs his wife Cecilia, top, and daughter Audrey, right, as he speaks to supporters at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/ David J. Phillip)

Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa speaks to supporters at an election night event in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate and are on the brink of taking the House in Tuesday’s 2026 midterm elections in a widespread repudiation of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party that reached deep into their most loyal territory.

Seven Senate seats and two dozen in the House have flipped toward Democrats. It’s the first time in decades that Texas, Kansas and South Carolina have elected Democratic senators. Democrats also flipped seats in North Carolina and Ohio.

Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Amy Acton in Ohio, Rod Sand in Iowa and Gina Hinojosa in Texas won races for governor, flipping GOP-held offices.

While Trump urged voters to pretend he was on the ballot, most appear to blame his administration for high costs and want Congress to impose more checks on him, according to The AP Voter Poll. Trump tried to shift the blame away from himself during a Fox News interview that aired early Wednesday, saying Democrats “did a good job” in their campaigns and blaming GOP candidates for losses.

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In an upset that many analysts did not see coming, Democratic nominee J.D. Ford has defeated three-term Rep. Victoria Spartz in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District.

The Democratic pickup comes in a district that Trump won by nearly 17 percentage points two years ago.

Ford is the first openly gay member of the Indiana General Assembly. Spartz is the first and only Ukrainian-born member of Congress.

The defeat demonstrates the Democratic Party’s success this election cycle breaking through not just in the nation’s traditional battleground districts, but in several deep red ones as well.

Incumbent Sen. Susan Collins conceded earlier to Jackson, ending her run for a sixth term.

Democrats considered defeating Collins as key to winning control of the U.S. Senate, and she was one of Republicans’ most threatened incumbents this year.

Jackson, a former state legislative leader, replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee after Platner dropped out while facing an allegation of sexual assault, which he denied.

Turek, a Democrat who flipped Iowa’s Republican-held Senate seat, celebrated the win that seemed far-fetched in the state Trump won by 13 percentage points just two years ago.

“They told me it was impossible to win this Senate race, but tonight, Iowa, we have once again proved that the impossible is possible,” Turek said.

Turek will replace retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst and is among the seat-flipping Democrats ushering in a new majority in the chamber. Turek, who campaigned on rooting out corruption, said he’d be accountable to all Iowans.

“My political North Star has always been about what is best for the people, not about party,” he said.

A proposal to enhance California’s voter identification requirements had been placed on the ballot after a conservative group gathered thousands of petition signatures. But voters in the Democratic-led state rejected the proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday.

Opponents campaigned against it by linking the measure to Trump, who’s advocated unsuccessfully for a voter photo ID requirement at the national level.

The California measure would have required a government-issued ID to vote in person or the last four digits of that identification number to vote by mail in California. The vast majority of California’s ballots are cast by mail.

That line made the crowd shout with joy, but to Talarico it wasn’t about a party victory — even as Democrats tout his Senate win in the Republican state.

“We are tired of being told to hate each other,” he told a crowd, who yelled in agreement. “We didn’t win this race by alienating our neighbors or shaming our neighbors.”

His campaign, he said, is changing the game to a “politics of love.”

“This win is for every Texan who has ever wondered if anyone is ever listening,” he said. “I heard you. We heard you. And tonight, the world hears you.”

Klobuchar, who’s been in the U.S. Senate for 20 years, said in her victory speech that she’s focused on being a “transformative governor” for Minnesota.

“I am not interested in moving Minnesota to the left or the right; I want to move us forward,” she said.

She pledged to audit state government and invest in new technology to detect and deter fraud.

“We are going to speed up government, rebuild trust and work for you,” Klobuchar said. “Spoiler alert: you may not like every single thing I do.”

Klobuchar also said she was “not going to be a rubber stamp for Donald Trump. And I will do my job without fear or favor. I will govern for Minnesotans and nobody else.”

Trump has congratulated Democrats for their string of victories but maintains that the midterm elections are not a referendum on him.

“The Democrats did a good job. They fought hard,” he said in a phone interview with Fox News.

Several Trump-backed candidates lost in places that he won easily in 2024. But he blamed the candidates themselves, not policies of his that voters have looked on unfavorably, like the economy and Iran war.

“I don’t view it as a hit on me,” he said. “We’ve had the greatest two years in the history of the presidency.”

The Associated Press has not yet called the race.

Jackson is a former Maine Senate president who took over as the Democratic nominee in July after primary winner Graham Platner dropped out. He was tasked with defeating the longtime incumbent after a chaotic primary season that left the Democrats in disarray and briefly without a candidate.

Democrats had seen the race as a top opportunity to flip a Republican-held seat. Maine has supported Democrats for president since 1992, and Collins was running for reelection at a moment when President Trump is deeply unpopular.

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Zach Lahn said his defeat to Democrat Rob Sand in the Iowa governor’s race sends a message to corporate interests, career politicians and lobbyists.

“America is at a crossroads,” he said. “The fight is just beginning right now.”

Lahn called on his supporters to “protect this state,” coming after Sand became the first Democrat elected governor in the state in two decades.

He said he spoke to Sand and that he’d keep him in his prayers.

“I wish him well in this,” he said.

Iowa had an all-Republican congressional delegation going into the election. Democrats have now picked up three of the state’s four House seats.

In the 1st Congressional District, Christina Bohannan defeated Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. About 800 votes separated them two years ago, even though Trump comfortably carried the district, setting the stage for Bohannan to win on her third try for the seat.

Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott, a state senator and a Lutheran minister, defeated Zach Nunn in the state’s 3rd Congressional District.

And finally, Democratic candidate Lindsay James, a chaplain, defeated Republican Joe Mitchell in an open seat in the state’s 2nd Congressional District. The move by Rep. Ashley Hinson to run for the Senate had left the opening.

Both parties invested heavily in a state where farmers are dealing with headwinds from high gas prices and retaliatory tariffs.

Republican control of the Wisconsin Legislature has come to an end in at least one chamber.

Democrats won control of the state Senate on Tuesday and were making gains in the Assembly.

Democrats haven’t fully controlled Wisconsin’s government since 2010. But new legislative districts, ordered by the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court, gave Democrats a better shot at flipping the legislative chambers this year.

Republican Ashley Hinson made brief remarks to supporters after Democrat Josh Turek won Iowa’s open seat in the U.S. Senate.

Hinson, who serves in the House, was hoping to replace retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. Flanked by her family, Hinson thanked her staff and supporters for helping her fight to keep the American dream within reach for more Americans.

“I will continue to fight for common sense,” Hinson said.

“I think we ran an absolutely fabulous campaign across the state,” she added. “Lots of late nights and lots of miles.”

Republican Sen. Roger Marshall performed significantly worse with Kansas Senate voters under 30, with roughly 8 in 10 backing Democrat Adam Hamilton. Marshall split this group with his Democratic opponent in 2020, during his last Senate campaign, according to AP VoteCast.

Hamilton won moderates in Kansas this year, with roughly 7 in 10 backing him over Marshall. Marshall only won about one-quarter of this group, down from about 4 in 10 in 2020.

Many Kansas voters also appeared concerned about Marshall’s character, after he faced accusations throughout the campaign that he had sent unpaid medical bills from former patients to collections agencies. A slim majority of Kansas voters said Marshall did not have the right personal character to serve in the U.S. Senate.

About half of voters, by contrast, said Hamilton was “too extreme.”

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was confident going into Tuesday but said she was surprised anyway.

“The size of the blue wave is bigger than I ever imagined,” the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee told The Associated Press. “It’s unbelievable.”

Calling from her hotel after the evening at the committee office watching returns, she at times broke into laughter when ticking through the high points of the evening.

For Gillibrand, the biggest thrill was easy. “Kansas,” she interrupted. “First time since 1932.”

Beyond the wins, she credited candidates with talking about issues that were heavy on voters’ minds: “housing costs, fuel costs, medical costs and how they are going to fight for these families across America.”

Speaking before a raucous crowd, Hamilton said he won over Republicans and independents because they were not on board with the administration’s policies.

He cited economic pressure weighing on voters from tariffs along with the war in Iran as factors.

“I think the people in Kansas, Republicans, independents and Democrats are saying what’s happening in Washington is not OK,” he said.

He added: “I got elected because Kansans were saying, ‘We’re tired of the bullies. We’re tired of the chaos,’” Hamilton said to cheers.

Democrat Sherrod Brown told supporters they had made themselves clear to the nation.

“You sent an undeniable message tonight: Ohio is not for sale,” he said.

Brown’s victory over Republican Sen. Jon Husted was among the most expensive in the nation, topping $500 million in spending by campaigns and outside groups.

The former three-term senator pledged to return to Washington to fight for the average Ohio resident.

“My pledge to all Ohioans, whether you voted for me or not, is that I will always be on your side — always,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures overcame an effort to unseat him through redistricting to win a second term in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.

Figures defeated Trump-backed Republican Rhett Marques. The district had been reshaped to favor the GOP after the U.S. Supreme Court’s redistricting decision.

“We had the deck stacked against us,” Figures said at his victory party. But he said they got to work, “and we did not look backwards.”

Sand told a loud and energized crowd of Democrats in Des Moines that Iowans sent a clear message Tuesday.

“We have to have bigger hearts and minds than just our party,” Sand said. “Come January, we will be forced to work together.”

Sand’s win breaks a Republican trifecta that’s gripped state government for about a decade. He told lawmakers Tuesday that he looks forward to working across the aisle to solve Iowa’s problems.

Sand also had supporters in the crowd sing an election-night rendition of “America the Beautiful,” which he asked attendees to sing at each of his town halls. He also thanked his family and offered a tribute to his late brother-in-law, Walter Lauridsen, who died unexpectedly last month.

The crowd in Austin at her victory party screamed “Gina” repeatedly as the Democratic legislator who will be Texas’ first Latina governor addressed supporters.

“It never bothered me that they doubted me. It bothered me that they doubted us,” Hinojosa said. “Texas, my faith in you never wavered.”

Hinojosa said Gov. Abbott had called to congratulate her and offered to assist with her transition into office.

Hinojosa is a state lawmaker from Austin who entered the race last year with little money or name recognition. She told supporters about her upbringing along the Texas-Mexico border and her policy priorities, including fighting for public school teachers and keeping billionaires out of politics.

“Your life can be bigger than your dreams,” she said.

He’ll take over from termed-out Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Becerra defeated GOP rival Steve Hilton while campaigning on a promise to push back against Trump and his administration’s Republican policies, from immigration to voting rights.

“If anyone wants to come after California or any one Californian, they better be ready for a fight,” Becerra said at a rally near Sacramento.

He’ll become the state’s first Latino governor since the late 19th century. Becerra was born in Sacramento to a mother from Mexico and a father who was born in California and raised in Mexico.

“What a great night to be an American, to be the son of immigrants from a union household, to be standing in victory with all of you,” Becerra said.

The longtime Democratic leader told reporters in Washington that “Americans voted for change” and that there had been a “generational remake of the Senate map.”

“Five words for the American people: relief is on the way,” the New York senator said.

After Talarico and Hinojosa won the races for Senate and governor in Texas, respectively, overturning more than three decades of Republican control, voter Aaron Dickerson, 30, said it's a wake-up call for the Lone Star State.

“I think it is a rude awakening,” said Dickerson, who attended Talarico’s exuberant watch party. “They’ve been in power here in Texas for 30 years, and I think voters are realizing that, the problems with Texas, the only people to blame are Republicans.”

After Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s defeat, Trump accused him of being a “RINO,” or a “Republican In Name Only.”

Abbott, one of the president’s most steadfast allies, lost his bid for a fourth term to Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.

“If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!”

Cheers erupted for Jeffries after he and his leadership team addressed the crowd at the House Democrats’ watch party.

Jeffries is in line to make history as the first Black speaker of the House, if Democrats win control and colleagues elect him to the job.

Polls close in Hawaii and almost all of Alaska at midnight. The final polls of the 2026 midterms close at 1 a.m. in the Aleutian Islands, home of Alaska’s westernmost polling location.

In Alaska in 2024, about 25% of the total vote was not counted on election night. The bulk of the state’s mail voting results aren’t expected before Nov. 18, the deadline to receive overseas and military ballots. Mail and early in-person ballots comprised about 35% of the total vote in 2022 and about 45% in 2024.

Key contests to watch include the Senate and House races in Alaska.

Three more Democratic U.S. House members targeted for defeat through redistricting have won reelection.

In Alabama, Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures won a second term in a district that was redrawn to help Republicans after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling severely weakened the Voting Rights Act.

The Republican redraw dropped the district’s Black voting age population from 48% to 40%, making it more challenging for Democrats. While some incumbents affected by redistricting chose to retire or run in another district, Figures viewed the race as still winnable, and both parties ended up investing heavily in the race.

Meanwhile, in Texas, Republicans hoped to pick up five seats through redistricting. But Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez won reelection to a sixth term in a reconstituted district that Trump had won by about 10 percentage points over Kamala Harris.

And in Ohio, Rep. Greg Landsman, whose district on the westside of Cincinnati was redrawn, won reelection to a third term.

Republican campaign officials were unsparing in their blame of President Trump for Tuesday’s wholesale losses, particularly in Senate races.

The losses in South Carolina, Ohio and Texas — all states Trump carried easily two years ago — were a direct repudiation of the president, two officials with Senate campaigns said.

Trump asked voters to pretend he was on the ballot, which they did but not in the way the president hoped, the Republican strategists said, speaking on condition of anonymity to share internal conversations.

Voters were not happy with his policies and upset with what they felt was his exacerbation of their cost-of-living concerns, they said, adding that the broader Republican Party apparatus understands it was Trump and his team who cost the party the elections.

Texas Republican Wayne Hamilton, a former state GOP executive director, upon Texas Democrats capturing the U.S. Senate seat for the first time since 1988 as well as the governorship: “Does we got our butts kicked summarize it distinctly enough?”

“You just can’t overcome this environment.”

— By Thomas Beaumont

The House Democratic leader said this is not a partisan moment, but a patriotic one.

“Today begins the great American comeback,” Jeffries said to a cheering crowd at the Democrats’ watch party.

“We’re going to work hard to deliver on the dramatic change that you deserve,” he said.

“We hear you,” he said. “House Democrats are committed to making life better for you.”

Election official Heather Russell, right, assists a voter at the Nolensville Recreation Center polling place Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Nolensville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A voter casts their ballot at El Mansour, a Moroccan restaurant, on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

JoAnna Mendoza, left, Democratic candidate for Arizona's Sixth Congressional District, talks with supporter Brenda Robbins in Casa Grande, Ariz., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Santiago Rivera paints on a sign outside a polling place after casting his ballot on Election Day during the midterm election Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Clayton, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford join members of the Culinary Workers Union on Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A voting location is seen at the Greater Middle Baptist Church on Nov. 3, 2026 in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Kevin Wurm)

Jerry Lorimer votes at the Kanwaka township hall Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, near Lawrence, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at a polling place at Central Bucks South High School on Election Day in Warrington, Pa., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A voter carries their ballot at the Brooklyn Museum in New York on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A person walks to the City of Arlington South Service Center ahead of the polling place opening on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)