Anti-Islam Texas Governor Ousted in US Midterm Elections
TEXAS – Republican Greg Abbott, who had served three terms as governor of Texas, has been defeated in the midterm elections. The politician, known for his anti-Islam views and strong support for Israel, was beaten by Democratic state representative Gina Hinojosa.
The result, described as a surprise, ends three decades of Republican dominance of the governorship, according to US media projections on Tuesday. Reuters reported that Hinojosa has made history as the first Hispanic person elected to lead the state.
Since 1994, no Democratic candidate had won a statewide office in Texas, making this the longest such losing streak in the United States.
The result was another surprise in a triumphant night for the Democrats, who were projected to take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate after victories in several conservative states, including South Carolina and Kansas.
Abbott has repeatedly drawn criticism from religious-freedom advocates and Muslim civil-rights organisations in the United States. A number of his policies and actions concerning Muslim communities, Islamic institutions and the Israel-Palestine issue have been criticised as reinforcing anti-Islamic sentiment.
Hinojosa’s strategy relied in part on persuading Latino voters that the rising cost of living and mounting pressures on public schools mattered more than the ‘culture war’ issues that have led many Latino voters to shift towards the Republican Party in recent years.
‘We are Texans and Americans just like anyone else,’ she told Reuters in an interview in Austin in July. ‘Latino communities are feeling the economic squeeze, just like families across the country, including in Texas, which have been hit particularly hard.’
Abbott spent years building support in South Texas. He regularly visited communities in the largely Latino border region, established an extensive field operation in the Rio Grande Valley and made border security a central focus of his efforts to reach voters.
Hinojosa emerged as an unexpected challenger to one of the country’s best-known and best-funded Republican governors.
Her victory coincided with state representative James Talarico’s win in the US Senate race in Texas, according to media projections. He defeated Republican candidate Ken Paxton, who was backed by President Donald Trump.
Voto Latino executive director Beatriz Lopez said the Democratic victories were the result of high Latino voter turnout, motivated by concerns about affordability and Trump’s aggressive immigration-enforcement agenda.
The organisation, which seeks to register and mobilise Latino voters, registered about 400,000 voters in Texas during this election cycle and hopes to sustain that momentum through the 2028 presidential election.
‘This is a sweeping victory in Texas,’ she said. ‘It truly puts Texas on the political battleground map – and that changes everything, both now and heading into 2028.’