Democrat Gina Hinojosa elected Texas governor, ousting Republican Greg Abbott

Democrat Gina Hinojosa has been elected governor of Texas, defeating Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, according to published reports. If the result holds, Hinojosa, 52, would be the first Latina to serve as Texas governor and the first Democrat to hold the office in more than 30 years. That report is the only account in the material, and the result has not been independently confirmed here.

She has sat in the Texas legislature for a liberal Austin district since 2017. She entered the race with little money or name recognition and without significant national party support. Her campaign centred on opposition to AI data centres, on corruption, and on costs.

Her headline proposal is a one-time $1,500 "Corruption Tax Refund" for each of nearly 32 million residents, paid from the state's emergency savings fund.

Abbott's campaign had spent $180 million since last year, and he had won each of his previous races by double digits. His campaign described Hinojosa as a radical who wants to raise taxes and threatens the Texan way of life. Abbott had also answered anger over data centres with a temporary moratorium on new approvals. Republicans still hold the majority in the legislature, which limits how much a Democratic governor can do on her own, and the question of whether they will back the refund is the one to watch.