Democrats flipped Texas statewide executive offices in the November midterms after Republicans suffered losses across the ballot, a result that has shifted the state's political balance even though Republicans retain significant institutional power. Democrats won control of the Texas House, while Republicans kept the state Senate. The GOP also held on to a one-vote margin on the state Supreme Court, and the Railroad Commission will have a 2-1 Republican majority.
The most prominent change is the election of Gina Hinojosa as governor-elect, making her the first Latina to hold the office in Texas. Hinojosa is a former labor attorney who worked on the money-laundering case against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a prosecution that ended in a conviction in 2010 that was fully overturned in 2014. Before her 2016 election to the Texas House, she served on the Austin school board, a background that is relevant to the challenges facing the Austin district, which faces a possible state takeover after failing accountability ratings.
Hinojosa's agenda points to several areas of likely conflict with the Republican-controlled Legislature. She has said she plans to freeze electricity prices, although questions have been raised about whether a governor has the legal authority to do so. She has also moved against the expansion of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starbase facility in Cameron County, signaling that environmental and local land-use concerns may shape her approach to major industrial projects.
Texas last overhauled its tort laws in 2003, and the state's ranking on the lawsuit climate has slipped since then. Critics of a possible strengthening of trial lawyers' influence argue it would raise costs and hurt economic growth. Republicans created a Business Court and a Fifteenth Court of Appeals in 2023 to handle complex commercial disputes, but all three Republican members of the Fifteenth Court lost to Democrats in the recent election, a development that could reshape how those cases are handled.
Higher education is another area where a change in direction is possible. Democrats could seek to reverse bans on diversity, equity and inclusion policies in hiring and in public university curricula. Appointments to higher-education governing boards could also undo the 2023 ban on DEI offices, a shift that would depend on how board seats are filled over the coming months.
The state's border security effort will also be a central question. Operation Lone Star, the Texas border operation, has been supported by federal efforts under the Trump administration. The roughly 1,254-mile border with Mexico involves Texas National Guard members and Department of Public Safety troopers, with up to 7,000 state personnel deployed and about half of them guarding the Rio Grande. Federal presence in the same area is estimated at 12,000 to 19,000 personnel. One commentator has argued that ending the state effort could lead to an increase in fentanyl and trafficking, a claim that will likely be central to debate over any policy change.