(The Center Square) – After a Democratic sweep that ousted all statewide leaders in Texas, four women will lead what was once the largest Republican majority state in the country.

For the first time in history, four women will lead Texas as governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, and as state comptroller.

All Democrats, they are Hispanic, Caucasian and Black between the ages of 52 and 87. Three served together in the Texas House, and one in the Texas Senate, representing communities in Austin and Houston.

Gina Hinojosa - governor-elect

Democrat Gina Hinojosa, 52, was elected as the third female governor and first Hispanic female governor of Texas.

A native Texan, born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley, Hinojosa is an attorney who began her career as a civil rights and labor lawyer, representing unions. Her political career began when she was elected to the Austin ISD school board and later as its president. On the board, she worked to increase teacher pay, balanced the budget and improved academic standards.

She was first elected to the Texas House in 2016 representing House District 49 in Austin. She was reelected five times before she ran for governor.

In 2021, she led the first House Democratic Caucus quorum break opposing an election integrity bill, which was eventually enacted. She also helped lead the 2023 Democratic quorum break opposing redistricting, which was also enacted.

She ran a campaign as an “economic populist,” vowing to fight the “corporate elite who get rich while Texans struggle to get by.” Her agenda is to “save public schools,” put money in Texans’ pockets and end government corruption “so every Texan can live their American Dream.”

Her bipartisan transition team includes a former House Republican who voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, The Center Square reported.

Vikki Goodwin - lt. gov.-elect

Democrat Vikki Goodwin was elected in 2018 and served four terms representing HD 47 in the Austin area in western Travis County.

She is the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor in Texas history.

Goodwin, 59, defeated incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to lead the Texas Senate, a Republican-majority chamber.

A small business owner and real estate broker, she says she has brought “private-sector experience and a problem-solving mindset to her work at the Capitol.” She helped pass bills to improve children’s safety, strengthen domestic violence laws, advance mental health and recovery services, advocated for public school funding, environmental protections and affordable housing, among other measures.

She said “good governance requires both fiscal responsibility and compassion – balancing a sound budget with smart investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and natural resources” and “that Texas can be both economically strong and socially responsible – and that government should work for everyone, not just the well-connected.”

She ran to lead the Texas Senate to restore “a collaborative and cooperative spirit, putting aside things that divide us, with a focus on real issues, not distractions.”

Her legislative priorities include public education, clean water and energy, affordable housing and comprehensive healthcare.

She was born in Illinois and raised in Dallas. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Dean Senfronia Thompson – presumptive Speaker of the Texas House

Democrat Senfronia Thompson, 87, is the presumed next speaker of the Texas House after announcing she has enough votes.

If she is elected in January, she will become the first female and first Black legislator to lead the Texas House. She will lead a Democratic-majority chamber that flipped from Republican-controlled on Nov. 3.

Thompson is the longest-serving woman and longest serving Black lawmaker in Texas legislative history. Referred to as the Dean of the Texas House, she has represented HD 141 since 1973. She was first elected in 1972, representing northeast Houston and Humble in Harris County. She has served in many leadership roles, chairing multiple committees and championed a range of issues from education to energy to pioneering multiple anti-human trafficking laws.

She says she won’t run the House as a dictatorship and will work with Republicans “to get things done for this state,” The Center Square reported.

A native Texan born in Booth and raised in Houston, she holds multiple degrees, including a master’s degree, law degree and international law degree. She was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 2014.

Sarah Eckhardt – state comptroller

Democrat Sarah Eckhardt is the second woman elected to serve as Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The comptroller is responsible for managing Texas’ finances, multi-billion-dollar funds, contracts and grants, including the state’s $1 billion Education Savings Account (ESA) program.

She previously served as a former assistant Travis County attorney and as a Travis County Court Commissioner. She was the first woman elected Travis County judge. As judge, she implementedCOVID-19 lockdown policies and expanded hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer debt through transportation and park bonds, which voters supported in 2017.

She says her executive leadership record includes balancing budgets, lowering taxes, leading through natural disasters, improved government efficiency and public employee healthcare. She helped create Travis County’s first public defender’s office and instituted jail and arrest “diversion programs,” which she argues “support justice and public safety.”

She was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2020 representing SD 14 in the Austin area. She worked with Republicans to pass multiple bills, including property tax exemptions for seniors and disaster relief. She was reelected in 2024. Hinojosa is expected to call a special election to fill SD 14 for the remainder of the four-year term.

As comptroller, Eckhardt plans to audit the ESA program, “stop no bid contracts to wealthy donors,” “halt giveaways to AI data centers” and “restore trust and accountability in government – to make sure it works for the people who pay for it.” She says she plans to be “a vocal, practical champion for a government that is effective, efficient, fair, and minimally intrusive.”

A native Texan born in Houston in 1964, her father was a Democrat congressman who served from 1967 to 1981. She holds bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees.