Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Republican Greg Abbott in the Texas gubernatorial race, raising uncertainty about tech billionaire Elon Musk's data-center expansion plans in the state. Hinojosa campaigned against rapid data-center expansion, and Musk responded by joking about building data centers in space instead.
Where
Texas
When
November 3, 2026
Sources
Reported by 3 outlets
Taxes and money
The sources don't state an effect on taxes. They do state these figures.
Election spending by Musk$446 million1Who pays or receives it: Elon Musk
Musk's election spending related to Texasover $200 million1Who pays or receives it: Elon Musk
Who's involved
Elon Musktech billionaire and Republican megadonor with data-center plans in Texas
Gina HinojosaDemocrat who won Texas gubernatorial race
Greg Abbottincumbent Republican defeated in Texas gubernatorial race
Sam Koppelmanpublisher of Hunterbrook Media
Greg CasarDemocratic Representative of Texas
The facts
Elon Musk spent around $446 million on election spending, more than any non-candidate has ever spent.1
Musk spent over $200 million on election efforts related to Texas.1
Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Greg Abbott in the Texas gubernatorial race.12Stated by 2 sources
Hinojosa campaigned against rapid expansion of data centers.2
Musk posted on X: 'Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.'12Stated by 2 sources
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterms.2
Texas has been a hub for data centers and their construction in recent years.1
Who said what
These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.
Sam Koppelman, publisher of Hunterbrook Media Texas was supposed to be an AI oasis where data centers could be built; this election totally changed that.1
Greg Casar, Democratic Representative of Texas Voters rejected Republicans because they were bought and paid for by AI billionaires; Democrats must hold them accountable.1
How they headlined it
The same event, as each outlet put it. Marked words appear in only one outlet's headline.
Musk’s Texas data-center plans in doubt after Democrats’ surprise wins
These outlets were found through Google News headlines. Google decides which outlets appear there, and they lean mostly one way, so this sheet can only be as balanced as the reporting it was built from. Leanings are AllSides Media Bias Ratings.
Gina Hinojosa won election as Texas governor and another Democrat won U.S. Senate from Texas for the first time since 1988 and 1990 respectively. Gov.-elect Hinojosa stated she will maintain a freeze on new data center authorizations ordered by outgoing Governor Greg Abbott.
$nearly nine million dollars for campaign contributions
Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect; Talarico, U.S. Senate-elect (first name not given); Jorge Renaud, Voter and 5 more
Texas senator-elect James Talarico made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live's cold open, interrupting a sketch about President Donald Trump's midterm loss. Comedian Druski hosted the episode with musical guest The Strokes.
James Talarico, Texas senator-elect who appeared in the cold open; Druski, Host of Saturday Night Live; James Austin Johnson, Actor playing Trump in cold open sketch and 2 more
Democrats won a landslide victory in Tuesday's midterm election. Voters in 10 states rejected data center expansion in 40 of 41 local ballot measures. In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa was elected governor, the first Democrat since 1990, and pledged a statewide moratorium on data center approvals.
$$4.4 billion for debt owed by CoreWeave
Gina Hinojosa, Governor-elect of Texas, Democrat; Michael Intrator, CEO of CoreWeave; Democrats, Party that won midterm election and 1 more
Matthew Shane Zachary was arrested and charged with murder in connection with a homicide at a residence in Gaines County. The Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers are leading the investigation with assistance from the Gaines County Sheriff's Office.
$$750,000 for bond
Matthew Shane Zachary, Suspect arrested and charged with murder; Gaines County Sheriff's Office, Law enforcement investigating homicide; Texas Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers, Leading the investigation
Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa said in a CNN interview that the state should pause work with data centers until protections for residents are in place. She promised to introduce laws to change the state's approach and said communities should have a role in deciding whether data centers are built there.
Democrats in the Texas Legislature filed legislation Monday as bill filing opened for the 2027 session. Proposals included Medicaid expansion, minimum wage increases, ending data center tax breaks, banning Flock cameras, repealing ICE partnership requirements for sheriffs, forbidding border wall construction at state parks, ending school vouchers, boosting per-pupil school funding, legalizing marijuana, and building high-speed rail from Dallas to San Antonio.
$up to $10 billion a year for medicaid expansion annual funding to Texas
State Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin, filed Medicaid expansion bill; State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, filed companion Medicaid bill; Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, filed school nurse notification bill and 3 more
El Paso County Sheriff's Office arrested 38-year-old Laron Lenard Watts and charged him with theft of property valued at $150,000 or more after he reportedly refused to return a shipment of fiber-optic cable, trailer, and container worth $155,000 total following a payment dispute.
$$155,000 for estimated value of property (shipping container, trailer chassis, fiber-optic cable)
Laron Lenard Watts, 38-year-old man arrested and charged with theft; El Paso County Sheriff's Office, law enforcement agency conducting investigation and making arrest