Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa (D) is scheduled to hold her first news conference on Thursday afternoon, following her victory over incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The win ends more than three decades of Republican control of the Texas governor's mansion and makes Hinojosa the state’s first Latina governor. The race is part of a broader Democratic sweep that saw the party retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives and win key gubernatorial races nationwide.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic leaders and candidates are framing the results as a decisive mandate for their agenda. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), who announced his bid for Assistant Speaker, stated that the victory requires the House Democratic Caucus to be "unified" to "lower costs, end corruption, and deliver for working families." Sen.-elect Annie Andrews (D), who defeated incumbent Sen. Tim Scott (R) in a competitive race, emphasized a desire for bipartisan cooperation despite campaign tensions. "It's not really about my hurt feelings or the way that they operated in the campaign," Andrews said. "It's about Sen. Tim Scott and I finding a way to work productively together."
Hinojosa’s campaign focused on state-specific issues, including data center concerns that emerged late in the race. Andrews noted that her team avoided nationalizing the campaign to focus on local issues. "We knew we could bring this across the finish line, and we didn't want this to become a national race because it's not about national politics," she said.
What the Right Is Saying
Republican leaders have acknowledged the scale of the Democratic victory. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) described the election results as a "blue tsunami" and a "Watergate-level repudiation" of the GOP's current direction. The defeat of Gov. Abbott in Texas, a state Republicans had held for over 30 years, marks a significant shift in the political landscape of the South and Southwest.
Despite the losses, some Republican figures are attempting to move forward with professional relationships. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has reportedly scheduled a call with Sen.-elect Andrews, though it remains unclear if he apologized for previous name-calling during the campaign. The GOP also secured a rare victory in redistricting, with Republican Jace Yarbrough flipping Texas' 32nd District, marking the party's only success in a mid-decade map redraw effort.
What the Numbers Show
CBS News projects that Democrats will secure a House majority with an estimated 251 to 268 seats. The party flipped more than two dozen Republican-held seats, including districts previously considered deep-red or safe GOP. Key flips include Arizona's 1st District (Amish Shah), North Carolina's 6th, 13th, and 14th Districts, Virginia's 1st District (Shannon Taylor), and Montana's 1st District (Sam Forstag). In California, five districts flipped from Republican to Democratic control.
In Texas, the GOP's mid-decade redistricting effort, initiated by President Trump to net up to five seats, largely failed. Democrats won the seats Republicans targeted, with the exception of Texas' 32nd District. In New Mexico, Deb Haaland was elected governor, becoming the first Native American woman to lead a U.S. state, while Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman senator in Minnesota. In Mississippi, the Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith remains uncalled, with Colom leading by just over 1,000 votes as thousands of ballots are still being counted.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 midterms represent a significant realignment, with Democrats retaking the House and breaking Republican control in key states like Texas and Montana. The results suggest that Republican efforts to gerrymander districts mid-decade backfired, contributing to their loss of the House majority. As Gov.-elect Hinojosa prepares to outline her priorities, attention will shift to how the new Democratic majority in Congress interacts with the Trump administration, particularly on issues of corruption and cost-of-living. The Mississippi Senate race remains a toss-up with outstanding ballots, and all seat counts are subject to final certification.
Results are projections and partial counts that may change as final tallies are completed.