Texas attorney general Greg Abbott will be the next governor of Texas, ushering in a new wave of Republican leadership across the state. Abbott won yesterday’s election by a margin of 20 percentage points over Democratic candidate Wendy Davis.
“I told her what I want to tell you: whether you voted for me or against me or didn’t vote at all, I’m going to work every single day to keep Texas the best state in the United States of America,” Abbott said at his victory speech in Austin.
News outlets began to call the race in Abbott’s favor before Davis’ party in Fort Worth even got started. She addressed the crowd, surrounded by her daughters, mother, sister and brother.
“Tonight I know that you are disappointed and being disappointed is OK, but being discouraged is not,” Davis said. “Because what we have before us is an opportunity to remake this state in your image and to prove to the world what we’ve always known: that this was never about Wendy Davis or Greg Abbott, this has always been and will forever will be about each and every one of you.”
The governor’s race was the first open race for the position in 25 years—Rick Perry assumed the job after George W. Bush was elected president in the year 2000. Mclennan Community College political science professor Ashley Cruseturner says after a quarter century of two charismatic, popular Governors, Abbott has big shoes to fill.
“George W. Bush and Rick Perry seem to lend great gravitas to the Governor of Texas,” Cruseturner said. “At this point with Rick Perry having run for president once and people talking about Perry running, the Governor of Texas seems to carry a lot of weight. This is going to be a great changing of the guard to see if Greg Abbott lives up to that sort of expectation of the Texas Governor.”
The GOP swept statewide positions down the Texas ballot as well. Republican Dan Patrick beat fellow State Senator Leticia Van De Putte in the Lieutenant Governor’s Race. And Republicans won races for attorney general, comptroller, land commissioner and railroad commissioner as well.