The Texas Tribune newsroom has reporters across the state tracking the election results. They’ll be posting their observations and analysis below all night.
Here’s are the top things you need to know:
- Gov. Greg Abbott conceded to Gina Hinojosa, in a stunning upset. Hinojosa, a state representative from Austin, will be the first Democratic governor since Ann Richards lost her reelection bid in 1994. She will become Texas’ first Latina governor.
- James Talarico won Texas’ U.S. Senate seat. The Democrat defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican.
- You can see vote totals for all statewide and legislative races here.
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The president followed up the post with a second stating he is “going to become a Political Pundit, both good and bad, on the reasons these Candidates won and lost!”
In a remarkably sharp rebuke of Gov. Greg Abbott, President Donald Trump said in a Truth social media post that the governor lost his reelection bid because he became a “RINO” — Republican in name only — in the “last six months of his Political Life.” truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/117556309377726931
Ken Paxton's loss sets fire to the more than $200 million Elon Musk poured into the race on his behalf.
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Letitia Plummer has declared victory in the Harris County judge race, making her the first Black woman elected to the position.
Democrat Clayton Tucker is declaring victory in the Texas Agriculture Commissioner race over Republican Nate Sheets. In a post on social media, Tucker said “Tonight, we made history. For the first time in 40 years, Texans elected a Democrat to this office, and we did it together.”
The AP has not called the race yet. So far, 53% of votes have been counted and nearly 55% is for Tucker.
Democratic state Rep. Vikki Goodwin declared victory over Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, according to a campaign spokesperson. The race has not yet been called by the AP.
Harris County, home to Houston, one of the country’s largest cities, is expected to release its first total Election Day vote count in the next 20 minutes. Early voting totals showed Talarico leading Paxton 66 to 32 and Hinojosa 64 to 34, with similar results for Democrats down the ballot. By mid-afternoon, Harris County surpassed its previous midterm election turnout record, with more than 1.31 million ballots cast through Election Day.
Hard to overstate how stunning tonight’s results are. Within seconds, Greg Abbott concedes to Gina Hinojosa for governor and James Talarico is declared winner in the U.S. Senate race. It will take time to fully understand the impact on governing in Texas and politics in America. But suffice to say that a lot will change with a legislative session a couple months away. Meantime, all eyes turn to whether Democrats can flip the Texas House — a possibility that seemed unimaginable just a few hours ago.
In South Texas, Democrats were hoping to revert back to 2020 or even 2018 margins with Latino voters. But Talarico is running ahead of even Hillary Clinton in Cameron and Hidalgo Counties.
Jon Rosenthal has declared victory in the contentious, abnormally controversial race for Railroad Commissioner on X, writing: “Tonight’s results show that experience and good governance matters,” adding that Texans sent a message “that the politics of hate and division do not win in the Lone Star State.”
We are still waiting for results from Lubbock County. I’m hearing reports that at least one polling location is having to recount their votes, which could delay results by another few hours.
With Gov. Greg Abbott conceding defeat, this means the end of Mike Morath as Texas’ all-powerful education commissioner — whom Gina Hinojosa vowed to fire if she won. Morath’s term is set to end in early 2027.
This could also have major implications for the ongoing state takeovers of school districts in cities like Houston and Fort Worth.
Johnson’s win makes him the first Democrat elected to the Attorney General’s office in over 30 years, since Democrat Dan Morales won the office in 1994.
Democrat Nathan Johnson has declared victory in the attorney general’s race, another sign of the truly devastating night for Republicans down ballot. Under Paxton, the Texas AG’s office became the tip of the spear of a national conservative legal movement. To see that agency’s powers handed to Democrats has implications nationwide. The AP has not yet called this race.
Just deafening cheers at Talarico HQ as Talarico and Hinojosa were declared winners in short succession. People hugged, screamed and cried as CNN displayed their race calls one on top of the other.
On CBS News, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett says, responding to the news in Texas: "Our lives are going to change."
Abbott with wife behind him tells supporters: “I love our state. It has been an honor to serve it. And know that we are leaving Texas in far better shape than it's ever been. Together, we've accomplished a lot. “
AP race call makes it official: James Talarico has won the U.S. Senate race. The last time a Democrat won a Senate race in Texas, in 1988, Tom Landry was still coaching the Cowboys and Talarico was not yet born.
Choice words from Jon Rosenthal, the Dem candidate for Railroad Commissioner, about his opponent Bo French: “The dude that posted the online poll last summer asking who’s a bigger threat to America, and the only two choices were Muslims and Jews, tonight this Jewish engineer sends that motherfu***r home.”
