On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, voters in three states elected three women who are breaking new ground in U.S. history. In Texas, Georgia and New Mexico, a Latina woman, a Black woman and a Native American woman will each lead their state for the first time. For a community like ours, made up of immigrant families and women who work hard every day to get ahead, these results carry special meaning.
Texas: Gina Hinojosa, the first Latina governor
Gina Hinojosa, a Brownsville native and state representative from Austin, won the race for governor of Texas. She will be the first Latina to lead our state. Hinojosa is a labor attorney, a former president of the Austin school board, and has served several terms in the Texas House of Representatives.
Texas has had two women governors before: Miriam “Ma” Ferguson in the 1920s and 1930s, and Ann Richards from 1991 to 1995. Hinojosa will be the third woman to hold the office and the first Latina, in a state where nearly 4 in 10 people are Latino.
Georgia: Keisha Lance Bottoms, the nation’s first Black woman governor
Keisha Lance Bottoms, former mayor of Atlanta, won the race for governor of Georgia. She will be the first Black woman to serve as governor in U.S. history and the first woman to lead Georgia.
New Mexico: Deb Haaland, the nation’s first Native American woman governor
Deb Haaland, of the Pueblo of Laguna, won the race for governor of New Mexico. She will be the first Native American woman to lead a U.S. state. Haaland was one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and the first Native American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, as Secretary of the Interior.
Why does it matter?
For more than two centuries, very few women have served as governors, and even fewer Latina, Black or Native American women. Three of them winning on the same day is a sign that doors are opening. For many girls and young women from immigrant families, seeing a Latina governor in Texas means seeing a path that is possible.
Does this change immigration law?
Not directly. Immigration law, including visas, green cards and citizenship, is federal and is set in Washington, not by the states. No governor can approve or deny your case.
What state governments do decide are issues that affect immigrant families: how local police work with immigration authorities, driver’s licenses, education and other state programs. The new governors take office in early 2027. We will be watching for any changes that affect our community and will explain them here.
Our commitment
As a firm founded by a woman, we celebrate seeing more women in leadership. Our commitment remains the same: to help you with your immigration case with clear and honest information.
If you have questions about your immigration situation, schedule a consultation with our San Antonio office.
This article is general information and is not legal advice for your case. Fernanda Inegol, Barba Inegol Law Firm PLLC.
Sources: KBTX: Gina Hinojosa to become Texas’s first Latina governor · KPRC Click2Houston: Texas results · CBS News: Keisha Lance Bottoms · OPB/AP: Bottoms makes history in Georgia · ICT: New Mexico elects first Native woman governor · U.S. Census Bureau: Texas QuickFacts (40.3% Hispanic or Latino)