Texas Mid-Term Election Results Reshape Outlook for Gambling Expansion

Democrats Gina Hinojosa and Vikki Goodwin secured victories in Texas’s November 3, 2026 statewide elections, with Hinojosa defeating Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Goodwin unseating longtime Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. The results end more than three decades of Republican control of the governor’s office and introduce a new variable into the long-stalled debate over legalizing casinos and sports betting in the nation’s second-most-populous state. Hinojosa, a Democratic state representative from Austin, won the gubernatorial race with approximately 52.8% of the vote to Abbott’s 45.8%, according to live tallies.