Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott in the Texas governor's race on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to The Associated Press. The AP declared Hinojosa the winner at 11:17 p.m. EST, PBS NewsHour reported.

Hinojosa will be Texas' first Latina governor. She is also the first Democrat to win the office since 1990, according to PBS NewsHour.

The outcome was watched closely in Tarrant County, where in-person early voting jumped 47% compared with the 2022 midterm, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The county drew 571,950 in-person early voters, according to the Tarrant County Elections Administration.

Tarrant County in the spotlight

Political analysts had flagged Tarrant County as a key bellwether heading into election night. Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, told Texas Standard he planned to watch Tarrant County results closely, calling it "genuinely competitive."

Houston Public Media reported that in 2024, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties collectively accounted for close to 16% of the statewide vote. All three went for Donald Trump by single- or low-double-digit margins, making them more Democratic-leaning than the state overall.

Tarrant County voters cast ballots at 224 polling locations across the county on Nov. 3, including sites in Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake, according to Community Impact. Local vote centers included Southlake Town Hall, Grapevine Public Library and Colleyville Recreation Center.

The upset

Abbott had served as governor since 2015 and was seeking a fourth term. He won re-election by more than 10 points four years ago, Time reported. Libertarian Pat Dixon also appeared on the ballot.

The Texas Tribune reported that Hinojosa overcame a more than four-to-one spending disparity. Campaign finance reports showed Abbott raised $26 million in the final reporting period before the election, while Hinojosa raised $17.5 million, according to Houston Public Media.

What the candidates ran on

Abbott campaigned on property tax relief, border security and expanding school choice, according to KSAT. He championed the state's education savings account program, which allows eligible families to use public money for private school or homeschool expenses.

Hinojosa, a five-term state representative from Austin's House District 49, centered her campaign on public school funding, affordability and government accountability. She proposed a $1,500 payment to every Texas household, which she called a "corruption tax refund," and called for suspending the state gas tax, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

What comes next

Hinojosa will serve a four-year term beginning in January 2027, according to KPRC. Major changes to education funding, taxes and other laws would require cooperation from the Republican-controlled Legislature, KSAT reported.

Texas entered the election with a record 19,041,684 registered voters, a 2.2% increase from the November 2024 general election, according to a news release from Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden. Tarrant County alone had more than 1.37 million registered voters, according to the Star-Telegram.