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

Hinojosa will be Texas' first Latina governor and the first Democrat to win the office since 1990, according to PBS NewsHour. Abbott conceded, saying he could not mathematically win, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The result caps a race that touched Allen directly. Abbott held a campaign stop Oct. 21 at Matt's Rancho Martinez in Allen, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Collin County turnout surged

Allen-area voters turned out in force. About 46.8% of Collin County's 799,130 registered voters cast ballots during the two-week early voting period Oct. 19-30, Community Impact reported. That 374,250-voter total far exceeded the 264,741 early voters in the 2022 midterms, when 38.16% of registered voters participated, according to the Texas Secretary of State's website.

Allen Public Library was among the three busiest early voting sites in Collin County, alongside McKinney's John and Judy Gay Library and Plano's Davis Library, according to early voting election rosters cited by Community Impact. Allen ISD facilities also served as Election Day vote centers, Fox 4 reported.

What the race was about

Abbott, who had served as governor since 2015, was seeking a fourth term. He won re-election by more than 10 points four years ago, Time reported. He campaigned on property tax relief, border security and expanding the state's education savings account program, which allows eligible families to use public money for private school or homeschool expenses, according to KSAT.

Hinojosa, a five-term state representative from Austin's House District 49, centered her campaign on public school funding, affordability and government accountability, according to KSAT. 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.

The education savings account program drew about 274,000 applications statewide and funded 85,344 student accounts as of July 29, with more than 121,000 students on a waiting list, according to the Texas Comptroller's annual demographic report. Hinojosa has pledged to end the program.

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 had a record 19,041,684 registered voters ahead of the election, a 2.2% increase from November 2024, according to a Texas Secretary of State news release. Libertarian Pat Dixon also appeared on the ballot, along with several write-in candidates, according to MultiState Elections.

Texas has not elected a Democratic governor since Ann Richards, whose term ran from 1991 to 1995.