Gina Hinojosa won the Texas governor's race, according to results announced on election night. Democrats also won the lieutenant governor and attorney general offices, and the Texas House has a Democratic majority. Texas would have its first Democratic governor in more than three decades.
Ava Marchant, 21, said the win gave her hope that laws restricting reproductive rights could change. "I'm feeling just overcome with joy and relief," she said. Texas has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, allowing the procedure only in narrow medical situations.
John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life, said he expects the political climate to be more difficult for the anti-abortion movement. Kaitlyn Kash, a former plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the state's abortion law, said it is "way too early" to say whether major changes or a repeal could happen. Republicans hold 19 of the 31 seats in the Texas Senate, which the report said gives them a strong position to block sweeping changes.