Texas Democrats sweep statewide offices; Catholics, pro-lifers respond

Democrats captured every major statewide office in Texas on Tuesday, ending more than three decades of Republican dominance in the Lone Star State. Catholics and other Christians are warning that the results threaten hard-won gains on the protection of unborn life and parental rights in education.

In a surprise defeat in the governor’s race, former state legislator Gina Hinojosa defeated three-time incumbent Greg Abbott, who was first elected in 2014. In 2021, he signed into law the Texas Heartbeat Act, which banned abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detectable (around six weeks).

While both Hinojosa and Abbott are Catholic, Hinojosa is pro-abortion, voting against the Heartbeat Act and saying she would sign a bill repealing Texas’ abortion law if it came to her desk, though she has expressed that would be unlikely due to the Republican-majority Legislature. Republicans retained the state Senate but lost their majority in the House.

She said in September that expanding abortion access will not be a priority for her as governor because it will take more than her election to get Texas out of the “deep hole” itʼs in regarding what she calls “reproductive rights.”…