Texas has long been led by Republicans, from its governor's mansion and state legislature down to many of its locally held offices. But this year's elections have abruptly turned the ruby-red state blue, with sweeping implications for Texas' laws and the lives of its more than 30 million residents.
Democrats scored a series of historic victories in Texas state politics earlier this month, winning every statewide race on the ballot and a number of more local contests to boot. Gina Hinojosa upset Gov. Greg Abbott to become the state's first-ever Latina governor and the first Democrat elected to the position since the 1990s. Democratic candidates swept up key posts in the races for lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, and land and agricultural commissioners. In the state House, Democrats won a majority for the first time in over two decades.
On a statewide level, only the Texas Senate, the state's Supreme Court and court of criminal appeals, and the railroad commission remain under Republican control. And while they didn't win the majority in the latter three bodies, Democrats gained significant ground there, too. For the first time since 1990, the party claimed one of the state's three railroad commissioner positions. In the races for Texas' state courts, meanwhile, Democratic candidates managed to secure three of nine seats on the criminal appeals court and four of nine on the state Supreme Court, smashing another decades-long streak of Republican victories several times over. The last time any Democrat had been elected to either court was in 1994.
In January, newly elected officials in Texas' executive branch will begin their terms. The new slate of Texas lawmakers will also convene that month for their first legislative session, in which they will propose and vote on legislation.
Shortly after Trump returned to the White House last year, Abbott issued multiple Executive Orders directing state agencies to coordinate and assist with the Trump Administration's immigration operations. The Republican governor also previously signed into law a controversial measure, SB 4, that requires cities and counties to share information regarding the immigration status of detained individuals with federal officers.
Abbott has pursued a hard-line immigration agenda of his own in recent years as well, transporting migrants from Texas to Democratic-led cities and launching an initiative aimed at combatting illegal immigration in the state, Operation Lone Star, that has seen thousands of Texas National Guard and Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers deployed to the southern border and the state work to erect a number of physical barriers there.
Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson has said that he would review state agreements with Immigration and Customs enforcement (ICE), allowing him to have "private individual investigative authority over actions by ICE committed in my state." And following the elections earlier this month, Houston Mayor John Whitmire has already instructed city police to limit cooperation with ICE officers through an Executive Order.
Josiah Heyman, a professor of border studies at the University of Texas El Paso, notes that SB 4 "is still in place," but says that "certainly a great deal matters in terms of how it's carried out, how it's interpreted."
"What they could change would be the ways that the Texas law enforcement cooperates with the ICE and Customs and Border Protection. I think that's far and away the most important thing that could be done," Heyman tells TIME.
He says that Democratic leaders may increasingly push back against SB 4 by directing reduced cooperation with ICE, and eventually attempt to repeal the law entirely. "There's an enormous amount of discretion that could be exercised in assigning officers," he says. He cautions, however, that "it's going to take a while for changes to take place in the actual laws themselves."
Faisal Al Juburi, the co-CEO of RAICES, a non-profit legal aid organization serving the Texas immigrant community, tells TIME that there could also be an end to family detention in Texas following the change in the state's leadership, noting that this is "one of the key areas that has appeared to be a focus" for Hinojosa. The governor-elect has vowed to stop private prison companies from holding children and their families in immigration detention in the state.
Several newly elected officials have also promised to restrict the rapid growth of data centers, which have been a source of discontent for many Texans, who have expressed concerns over the centers draining water supplies, driving up energy costs, and creating unwanted noise and pollution.
Hinojosa said last month that she would issue a moratorium on all data center approvals and proposed requirements for companies to show that their facilities would not drive up water and electricity costs for residents living nearby. Lieutenant governor-elect Vikki Goodwin has also vowed to "prioritize bills that regulate data centers and protect our water, land, health, and access to electricity," while Agriculture Commissioner-elect Clayton Tucker said that he would issue impact studies on data centers' effect on Texas water and farmlands. "I stand with the Texas Farmers Union, the people of Hill County, and all of the Texans who are calling to stop data centers," Tucker said.
Kenneth Medlock, a senior director at Rice University's Center for Energy Studies, tells TIME that data centers are going to be at the "top of the ledger" when it comes to creating new energy-related policy.
"Anything, even on the data center front, that's already under construction, is not going to get suspended or disrupted," he says. "This is really going to be more about how things change going forward."
One of the earliest changes on that front could come as soon as Hinojosa's first day in office, when she has pledged to fire Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath.
"Installing a new commissioner of education is a clear authority within the new governor's office, that will have huge implications for our education policy as it stands and how things might might look going forward," Chloe Sikes, who leads policy research across Texas for the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), tells TIME. She says that this position will be crucial in enforcing potential education reform if new laws are enacted.
David DeMatthews, a professor of Education at the University of Texas, Austin, adds that Hinojosa may also roll back Texas' A-F accountability system, which assigns public schools and districts letter grades based on student achievement. The program has faced backlash over its disproportionate impact in districts serving low-income students and the harsh penalties that can be levied against schools that receive poor grades, including state takeovers in which local school boards are replaced by state-appointed managers.
"I would expect that local control would be returned to those school districts relatively quickly," DeMathews tells TIME. "What that means for parents is they can kind of show back up to a school board meeting with people they voted for and impress upon them their concerns or their desires."
DeMatthews also says that Texas' state voucher program, which enables parents to put taxpayer money toward students' private school educations, could also end in the near future. Critics of the program have argued that its funds should be used for the state's public school system.
The voucher program, DeMatthews explains, was established as part of a state law, which would need to be repealed by passing both chambers of the state House. But Hinojosa has veto power to reject future appropriations for the program.
"There will be no voucher money to be appropriate to families … That may leave some families in a position where they're going to no longer attend the private school," he says. He notes, however, that "the overwhelming majority of families that are using the voucher already have their kids in private schools."
"The first thing I do when people ask me about abortion is point out that I'm not a legislator, and I can't change abortion law." Johnson told The Texas Tribune after the elections earlier this month. "What I can do is cease using Texas abortion laws as an instrument of persecution and intimidation, harassment and political showboating. All four of those things have happened."
"As governor, I will ensure that every woman has the right to privacy, dignity, and care," Hinojosa said in January. "Traveling the state, I've heard countless stories from women who are afraid to get pregnant, and I want to remind them that they are not alone."
Though same-sex marriage is legal in all states, Hall adds that Texas' Constitution includes language saying the practice is banned, while an "anti-sodomy" provision also still exists within the state's Penal Code. Hall contends these texts, which are unenforceable due to landmark Supreme Court rulings, could soon be removed.
