AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — In a stunning upset, Gina Hinojosa was elected the first Democratic governor of Texas in more than 30 years on Tuesday, ousting Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in an upset that catapulted a decided underdog to national prominence leading 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 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.
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 Must had spent tens of millions for 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 Democrat James Talarico’s hard-charging U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Ken Paxton, 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.
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.
The first Democrat elected governor since 1990
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. Her victory gives Democrats a potent veto pen, but the extent of her power will be tested in a statehouse where Republicans still have a majority.
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 distanced herself from the progressive label
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.
“They want to run an entire campaign saying that I’m too woke,” Hinojosa said in one spot. “I plan to spend an entire campaign focused on the fact that working people are too broke.”
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