Democrats Flip Five Governorships, Including Texas, Georgia and Ohio; Gina Hinojosa Ousts Greg Abbott

Texas will have its first Democratic governor since Ann Richards left office in 1995. No Democratic-held governorship flipped to Republicans; Kansas and Alaska are not yet called.

Democrats flipped at least five governorships on Tuesday, all in states President Trump carried, and are on course to hold a majority of the nation's governorships for the first time in 16 years, according to Newsweek and NBC News.

The five called flips

• Texas: State Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin defeated Gov. Greg Abbott, who was seeking a fourth term. The AP called the race Tuesday night. Newsweek reported a margin of about 52.8% to 45.7%.
• Georgia: Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, 54.3% to 45.7%, according to Newsweek.
• Ohio: Former state health director Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy, with about 52.3% of the vote.
• Iowa: State Auditor Rob Sand defeated Republican Zach Lahn.
• Nevada: Attorney General Aaron Ford defeated Gov. Joe Lombardo and will be the state's first Black governor.

Kansas, which is held by a Democrat, and Alaska, held by a Republican, had not been called as of Friday. (See Not Yet Called.)

Republicans held a number of governorships, including Florida (Byron Donalds), South Carolina (Alan Wilson), Tennessee (Marsha Blackburn), Arkansas (Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders), New Hampshire (Gov. Kelly Ayotte) and Vermont (Gov. Phil Scott), according to MultiState's results tracker.

Before the election Republicans held 26 governorships and Democrats 24. With five flips, Newsweek put the new count at 29 Democrats to 21 Republicans, with Kansas and Alaska still to be decided.

Texas: a new governor and a Republican Legislature

Hinojosa, 52, is a former Austin school board president who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. She will be the first Latina governor of Texas when she takes office in January. Her campaign focused on public schools and household costs, according to the AP. She opposes the private-school voucher program Abbott championed, which began this year with $1 billion in public funds, and has pledged to replace Education Commissioner Mike Morath with an educator.

She is expected to face a Republican-led Legislature. Trinity University political scientist David Crockett told the AP before the election that a Hinojosa win "would be perceived as an earthquake," and that passing meaningful legislation will require finding common ground.

Abbott had campaigned on lowering property taxes and on making Texas safer, in part by securing the border.

Why it matters

Governors sign or veto the laws that most directly touch families: school choice, parental rights in education, protections for unborn life, and the rules churches and ministries live under. In Texas, the future of education savings accounts that many Christian families and church schools have welcomed is now an open question, though the Legislature will have its say. Families who care about these issues should get to know their new governors' staffs and their state legislators now, before the next session begins. Our Texas and Georgia readers can find local coverage on our State News pages.

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