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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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.”
Hinojosa becomes the first Latina governor of Texas. She will be the third woman to hold the office in the state’s history. The last was Democrat Ann Richards.
It would be hard to overstate what a political earthquake this is for Texas. As governor, Abbott has consolidated power and become one of the party’s most prominent standard bearers. While Hinojosa won’t immediately have the same influence he did, it’s still a seismic shift for so many facets of Texans lives. https://www.texastribune.org/2026/10/30/texas-governor-power-2026-greg-abbott-gina-hinojosa-split-government/
A surreal moment: Gov. Greg Abbott has taken the stage at his watch party to concede. He opens by saying "it has been the joy of my life" to serve as governor. He has occupied the governor's mansion since 2015 and won all three of his prior gubernatorial races by double-digit margins. He confirms that he called Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, to concede.
Travis County, home to Austin, has early vote results in. Talarico is leading Paxton 80-19 and Hinojosa is leading Abbott 78-21, with similar wipeouts down ballot. The county is left-leaning but these are still wide margins.
Gina Hinojosa with 71.8% of the early vote in Hidalgo County, among the highest vote share she has shown in any county so far and right behind Talarico. Hinojosa ran as a proud daughter of the RGV, although she now lives in Austin.
Hidalgo County is finally reporting their early voting numbers showing Talarico with 74% of the votes and Bobby Pulido with 75% of the votes in the race for TX’s 15th Congressional District.
Delivering remarks at his election night watch party, Jon Rosenthal, a Democrat of Cypress, said he was about to be the next Railroad Commissioner. “It’s still early, but it’s looking good,” he told the ebullient crowd. The Associated Press has yet to call the race.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick back in April: “We’re going to have a tough time holding the Texas House.”
House Speaker Dustin Burrows and others immediately rejected the idea at the time.
Via my colleague, Alejandro Serrano: texastribune.org/2026/04/08/texas-house-dan-patrick-gop-majority-2026-midterms-cornyn-paxton
President Donald Trump said Republicans would have won "in a landslide" if he were on the ballot in a short social media post — his first since the polls closed in Texas and across the country. truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/117556082339815131
I know all eyes are on how many seats Rs are going to be able to keep tonight, but in Corpus Christi, water security was on the ballot. Here, all city council members and the mayor were up for reelection and based on early votes, all races (except for one) are being led by candidates in favor of a city-funded desalination plant.
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Senator John Cornyn has extended his congratulations to James Talarico: "I look forward to meeting him and offering my assistance with his transition as he prepares to serve Texans in the U.S. Senate."
