The Ledger is Lubbock Lights’ daily digest of the news that matters to Lubbock and the South Plains — our reporting first, then short summaries of stories reported by other newsrooms, each linked to its source. How we build it →
Daily Ledger
Daily digest straight from the source
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Today’s lead
Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeats Gov. Greg Abbott to become Texas' first Latina governor and its first Democratic governor since 1995
Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday, Nov. 3, ending his bid for a fourth term and returning the governor's office to Democrats for the first time since Ann Richards left it in 1995, Lubbock Lights reported. The Austin state representative will be Texas' first Latina governor when her term begins in January.
Abbott conceded about 10 p.m., telling supporters the math no longer allowed a win and that he had called Hinojosa to offer help with the transition. The Texas Tribune reported Hinojosa overcame a more than four-to-one spending gap on a promise to revitalize public schools. Results remain unofficial until the canvass.
Sources Lubbock Lights · The Texan · The Texas Tribune · EverythingLubbock
More Local
Tom Sell wins the 19th Congressional District; Speaker Dustin Burrows and Sen. Charles Perry lead in early area returns
Republican Tom Sell won the open 19th Congressional District seat Tuesday, Nov. 3, leading Democrat Kyle Rable 75.1% to 24.9% with about half the district's vote counted when the Associated Press called it, Lubbock Lights' results page showed. Sell is a former aide to U.S. Rep. Larry Combest and was deputy staff director of the House Agriculture Committee, EverythingLubbock reported.
In partial returns, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows led Democrat Malik Williams about 80% to 20% in House District 83, and state Sen. Charles Perry led Riley Rodriquez about 74% to 26% in Senate District 28. Lubbock County's own contested races were still awaiting verified results early Wednesday after technical difficulties slowed local counting.
Sources Lubbock Lights · EverythingLubbock
Democrats win control of the U.S. Senate, flipping Republican seats from Texas and the Carolinas to Maine
Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to Associated Press race calls, Lubbock Lights reported. Josh Turek's defeat of Republican Ashley Hinson in Iowa secured the majority, ending the 53-47 Republican edge and giving Democrats control of committees, legislation and presidential nominations in January.
Fox News listed Democratic flips in Maine, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina. James Talarico beat Ken Paxton in Texas, former Gov. Roy Cooper won North Carolina and pediatrician Annie Andrews beat Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina, The Hill reported. Fox News reported Majority Leader John Thune intends to run for minority leader.
Sources Lubbock Lights · Fox News · Fox News · Fox News · EverythingLubbock
Charges dismissed against the man accused in the 2024 Clovis park killings of two women after he was civilly committed
A New Mexico judge approved an unopposed motion to dismiss the indictment against the man accused of killing two women in a park north of Clovis in May 2024, wounding a toddler and kidnapping an infant, KFDA reported via KCBD on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The dismissal order was filed Oct. 30, after the man was civilly committed for treatment in June.
Samantha Cisneros and Taryn Allen, both 23, were found shot to death, and a toddler nearby had a head injury. The missing 10-month-old, Eleia Torres, was found three days later in Abilene, Texas. The suspect was arrested by the FBI after carjacking an Uber driver at gunpoint.
Sources KCBD
Duffy Law Firm, PCLubbock grand jury indicts a 37-year-old man in the September death of his father
A Lubbock grand jury on Tuesday, Nov. 3, indicted a 37-year-old man on a charge of aggravated assault against a family member with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury, in the death of his father, KCBD reported. Police say the man described a "bad fight" with his father at a home near 64th Street and Avenue S on the morning of Sept. 27, after taking about 50 Xanax pills.
The father was found dead at the scene. A witness told police that a steel pry bar leaning against the living-room couch appeared to have blood on it. The man remains in the Lubbock County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond.
Sources KCBD
Panhandle Democrats in Amarillo cheer statewide wins as Clayton Tucker claims the agriculture commissioner's race
Around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, the crowd at the Texas Panhandle Democratic Headquarters in Amarillo broke into cheers as Clayton Tucker announced he was ahead in the race for agriculture commissioner, the Amarillo Tribune reported. The room erupted again around 10 p.m. when James Talarico's U.S. Senate race was called, and again minutes later at word that Gov. Greg Abbott had conceded.
A live band played while friends and strangers danced, hugged and wiped away tears. Tucker told the crowd that Tuesday was a first step on a long road and that he would need their help. The Tribune has also posted unofficial Potter and Randall county results.
Sources Amarillo Tribune · Amarillo Tribune
West Texas Mortgage Bankers Association gives $23,000 to Food 2 Kids for weekend meals at 37 area schools
The West Texas Mortgage Bankers Association presented $23,000 to Food 2 Kids at its Giveback Luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 3, money tied to its recent Food Fore Kids charity golf tournament, KCBD reported. The gift will help provide weekend meals for more than 2,000 children at 37 South Plains schools.
Food 2 Kids fights childhood hunger by sending nutritious, easy-to-open snack bags home for the weekend with students who face food insecurity when school meals are not available. Organizers thanked the community and said golfers' participation translates directly into reliable food for children across the region.
Sources KCBD
Texas Tech is No. 15 in the first College Football Playoff rankings ahead of Saturday's West Virginia game
The College Football Playoff selection committee ranked Texas Tech No. 15 in its first rankings Tuesday, Nov. 3, two spots below the Red Raiders' No. 13 in the AP and coaches polls, EverythingLubbock reported. Utah led five ranked Big 12 teams at No. 3, with BYU ninth, Houston 17th and Arizona 22nd.
The 7-1 Red Raiders have beaten Houston and Arizona, most recently 34-26 over the Wildcats on Saturday, and can still reach the playoff by winning the Big 12 Championship. Tech hosts West Virginia at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in a Black Out game, KCBD reported.
Sources Texas Tech Athletics · EverythingLubbock · KCBD
Black Business Holiday Market set for Nov. 15 at the East Lubbock Art House
The Black Business Expo will hold a Black Business Holiday Market from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, at the East Lubbock Art House, EverythingLubbock reported Tuesday. Organizers describe it as a celebration of Black-owned businesses, local entrepreneurship and the spirit of giving during the holiday shopping season.
Vendors will offer products, services, gifts, apparel, art, beauty products and handmade goods, and the event is meant to connect local businesses with new customers in a welcoming space. Organizers said the market is about creating opportunities for entrepreneurs, not only about holiday shopping.
Sources EverythingLubbock
State
James Talarico defeats Ken Paxton, the first Democrat to win a Texas U.S. Senate race since 1988
Democratic state Rep. James Talarico of Austin defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the first Texas Democrat to win a Senate race since 1988 and his party's first statewide win since 1994, the Texas Tribune reported. Decision Desk HQ called it around 9:15 p.m., with Talarico at 55% to Paxton's 43%, The Texan reported.
The 37-year-old former middle school teacher overcame a deluge of outside money. The Tribune said the result embarrasses President Donald Trump, who backed Paxton despite warnings from other Republican leaders that the scandal-damaged attorney general could cost the party the seat and hundreds of millions of dollars.
Sources The Texan · The Texas Tribune · EverythingLubbock
Advanced GraphixVikki Goodwin unseats Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the first Democratic lieutenant governor in 27 years
State Rep. Vikki Goodwin of Austin declared victory over Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Tuesday, Nov. 3, becoming Texas' first Democratic lieutenant governor in 27 years, the Texas Tribune reported. Patrick conceded in a statement, calling it a wave election and naming affordability, gas prices, data centers and 765-kV power lines among the issues on voters' minds.
Goodwin campaigned on public schools, health care and affordability and hit Patrick over his push to ban hemp-derived THC products. She inherits one of the most powerful offices in Texas, but its authority over the Senate rests largely on rules senators adopt, and that chamber keeps a Republican majority.
Sources The Texan · The Texas Tribune
Democrats lead in enough races to threaten Speaker Dustin Burrows' Republican majority in the Texas House
Democrats could take control of the Texas House for the first time since 2003, the Texas Tribune reported early Wednesday, Nov. 4. They need to flip 14 seats; the Associated Press had called five flips by 4 a.m., and Democrats led in at least a dozen more Republican-held districts. GOP data consultant Ross Hunt said Republicans appear set to lose the chamber.
Speaker Dustin Burrows of Lubbock and House Republicans had spent millions across more than 30 GOP-held districts, having learned from the 2018 wave that cost them 12 seats. The AP projected that Republicans will keep control of the Texas Senate, KXAN reported via EverythingLubbock.
Sources The Texas Tribune · EverythingLubbock
Democrat Nathan Johnson wins the race to succeed Ken Paxton as Texas attorney general
Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas claimed victory Tuesday, Nov. 3, in the race to succeed Ken Paxton as attorney general, becoming the first Democrat elected to the office since 1994, the Texas Tribune reported. Republican Mayes Middleton, an oil and gas heir closely tied to President Donald Trump, called Johnson to concede.
Johnson, a corporate litigator, says he will focus on consumer protection, anti-corruption work and child support enforcement, and will sue the Trump administration when he believes Washington is overstepping in Texas. The Tribune called it a seismic shift for an office that has spent years pushing conservative causes through the courts.
Sources The Texan · The Texas Tribune
Sarah Eckhardt unseats Comptroller Don Huffines and vows to audit Texas' new private school voucher program
Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin defeated Republican Comptroller Don Huffines on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and will be the first Democratic comptroller since 1999, the Texas Tribune reported. Huffines had held the office for three months after Gov. Greg Abbott appointed him.
Eckhardt campaigned on running the comptroller's office as a watchdog against financial waste. She has vowed to audit the new $1 billion program, which the office is implementing, that gives families taxpayer-funded vouchers for private school tuition and other education expenses. The comptroller serves as the state's chief financial officer.
Sources The Texan · The Texas Tribune
Democrats Clayton Tucker and Benjamin Flores win the agriculture and land commissioner races
Lampasas rancher Clayton Tucker, 35, declared victory over Republican Nate Sheets on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to become the first Democratic agriculture commissioner in nearly 40 years, the Texas Tribune reported. He takes over a $1.8 billion agency that aids farmers and ranchers, funds rural hospitals and oversees school lunches, as drought, inflation and tariffs squeeze producers.
Democrat Benjamin Flores defeated Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, leading about 51% to 47% by 1 a.m., The Texan reported. Flores, the first Mexican-born American elected statewide in Texas, pledged to protect the Permanent School Fund. The Tribune said data centers and rural cost-of-living worries fed the backlash against Republicans.
Sources The Texan · The Texan · The Texas Tribune
Jon Rosenthal wins the Railroad Commission race, breaking total GOP control of the oil and gas regulator
Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal of the Houston area declared victory Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Republican Bo French conceded just before midnight, ending decades of complete Republican control of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state's oil and gas industry, the Texas Tribune reported from Odessa.
French, a Tarrant County conservative, lost support from several prominent Republicans, including Karl Rove, after posting racist social media comments about South Asian students at a University of Texas football game. Rosenthal told supporters that Texans were sending a message that the politics of hate no longer work.
Sources The Texan · The Texas Tribune
Mullin Hoard & Brown, LLPTexas Republicans' 2025 congressional map backfires as Democrats win 14 of 38 seats, including West Texas' 23rd District
Texas Republicans redrew the congressional map in 2025 to flip five Democratic seats, but lost four of those five races Tuesday, Nov. 3, plus two seats they already held, leaving a 24-14 delegation instead of the 30-8 split they wanted, the Texas Tribune reported.
Democrat Katy Padilla Stout, a San Antonio attorney and former teacher, beat Republican YouTuber Brandon Herrera in the 23rd District, which covers most of West Texas between El Paso and San Antonio. Tejano musician Bobby Pulido ousted Rep. Monica De La Cruz in South Texas, and Bexar County sheriff's deputy Johnny Garcia won the redrawn 35th District, Fox News reported.
Sources Fox News · The Texas Tribune · The Texas Tribune
Trump says Abbott lost because he became a RINO in his last six months in office
President Donald Trump said late Tuesday, Nov. 3, that Gov. Greg Abbott lost his reelection bid because he became a RINO, or Republican in name only, in the last six months of his political life, the Texas Tribune reported. Trump posted the comment on Truth Social shortly after Abbott conceded to state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.
It was the president's first comment on a specific race as Democrats swept high-profile contests nationwide, and it contrasted with his praise earlier Tuesday for the three-term governor, whom he again endorsed. The two had long shared a respectful relationship, and Trump praised Abbott's border policies early in his second term.
Sources The Texas Tribune
League City voters reject Flock license plate cameras in Texas' first referendum on the devices
Voters in the Houston-area suburb of League City rejected the city's continued use of 55 Flock license plate cameras on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the Texas Tribune reported. Just under 54% of the 46,400 ballots cast on Proposition A favored removing the cameras, with all precincts reporting.
The measure was nonbinding, but the City Council pledged in October to remove the cameras if voters rejected them, and they will be taken down or bagged within 72 hours of certification. It is the first referendum in Texas to let voters decide whether police may keep using the increasingly controversial devices.
Sources The Texas Tribune
Texas sheriffs face a Dec. 1 deadline to seek ICE 287(g) agreements, and some are reluctant
Sheriffs in Texas counties that run or contract for a jail must request and enter a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement by Dec. 1 under Senate Bill 8, signed in 2025, KXAN reported Tuesday, Nov. 3, via EverythingLubbock. Sheriffs without one must give the attorney general proof of their efforts every year.
The program gives participating local officers limited federal immigration powers, and one model allows immigration arrests during routine police work. El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte opposes it but applied in June, saying the county risks being sued and he risks removal from office otherwise. He is still waiting on ICE's answer.
Sources EverythingLubbock
U.S. & World
Democrats win the U.S. House, putting Hakeem Jeffries in line to be the first Black speaker
Democrats won control of the U.S. House on Tuesday, Nov. 3, completing a sweep of both chambers that the Associated Press called a decisive rebuke of Republican governance and President Donald Trump, driven by high prices, the Iran war and corruption concerns. Fox News projected heavy GOP losses among Hispanic, young, independent and rural voters.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become the nation's first Black speaker when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3. Democrats have promised immediate investigations of Trump and his circle, including the Epstein scandal and the president's family finances, The Hill reported via EverythingLubbock.
Sources Fox News · EverythingLubbock (AP) · EverythingLubbock (AP) · EverythingLubbock
Trump congratulates Democrats but promises vetoes, as Democrats ready investigations of his administration
President Donald Trump congratulated Democrats on Tuesday night, Nov. 3, telling CBS News he looks forward to working with them for the good of the country and that he was not on the ballot, Fox News and The Hill reported. Earlier, a White House official blamed the GOP's losses on candidate quality.
Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Baier he would veto legislation he opposes. The Associated Press reported that Democratic control of both chambers opens the way to investigations and possible impeachments in his final two years, and lets Senate Democrats block his Cabinet and judicial nominees.
Sources Fox News · EverythingLubbock · EverythingLubbock · EverythingLubbock (AP)
D. Williams & Co., Inc.Democrats win a majority of governorships for the first time in two decades, flipping Georgia, Ohio, Iowa and Texas
Democrats won governor's races Tuesday, Nov. 3, in long-Republican states including Texas, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio, giving them a majority of governorships for the first time in two decades, the Associated Press reported. They will hold at least 27 of the 50 in 2027.
In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in the U.S., defeating billionaire Rick Jackson, who spent more than $200 million of his own money. In Ohio, Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy to become the state's first woman elected governor, The Hill reported via EverythingLubbock.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP) · EverythingLubbock · EverythingLubbock
Voters back abortion rights in Missouri, Virginia and Nevada and throw out Missouri's new congressional map
Abortion-rights supporters won ballot measures Tuesday, Nov. 3, as Missouri voters defeated an amendment to reimpose most abortion restrictions, Virginia added a right to reproductive freedom to its constitution and Nevada gave final approval to a right to abortion until viability, the Associated Press reported. Idaho voters rejected an abortion-rights measure.
Missouri voters also rejected the Republican congressional map drawn last year to gain a Kansas City-area seat, among 145 ballot questions in more than three dozen states. Ohio approved a constitutional photo ID requirement to vote, Alabama approved school prayer and daily pledge policies, and Virginia repealed its same-sex marriage ban, The Hill reported.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP) · EverythingLubbock · EverythingLubbock · EverythingLubbock
Gas averaged a record $4.11 a gallon for an Election Day as the Iran war keeps prices high
The national average for gasoline was $4.11 a gallon Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 3, a record for any Election Day, according to GasBuddy, The Hill reported. The previous Election Day high was about $3.75 a gallon in 2022, according to federal data that is not adjusted for inflation.
Prices remain elevated because of Iranian obstruction and attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil leaving the Persian Gulf. More oil is moving through the strait than at the start of the Iran war, but U.S. pump prices have stayed high, and fuel costs were a central issue of the midterm campaign.
Sources EverythingLubbock
Russian strikes knock out water and power across Kyiv as the death toll from Monday's school bombing reaches 37
Overnight Russian attacks on infrastructure cut power and water across Kyiv and surrounding regions Wednesday, Nov. 4, and residents were urged to use public drinking fountains as emergency centers opened with hot tea and charging points, the Associated Press reported.
In southern Ukraine, rescuers were still searching rubble three days after Russian guided bombs hit a school and shelter in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday. Authorities have confirmed 37 deaths, and about 38 people may still be trapped, in one of the deadliest attacks there in nearly five years of war.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
Shootout in eastern Washington leaves three dead, including the suspect, and two SWAT deputies critically wounded
A shooting and firefight with officers in Spokane County, Washington, left three people dead, including the suspect, and two deputies critically wounded Tuesday, Nov. 3, the Associated Press reported. Deputies went to the home around 2:30 p.m. after a woman told a neighbor her brother had shot her, Sheriff John Nowels said.
The suspect had an active felony warrant. SWAT team members who tried to breach the door were met with gunfire, and other deputies returned fire and moved the wounded to safety. One person was found dead inside the home and another in the yard, and the suspect was also killed.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
Supreme Court hears the Denver archdiocese's challenge to its exclusion from Colorado's state-funded preschool program
The Trump administration joined the Archdiocese of Denver on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in urging the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that let Colorado's state-funded preschool program exclude Catholic preschools that do not comply with its equal-opportunity requirements, the Associated Press reported.
A win for the archdiocese could further narrow a landmark 1990 decision, written by Justice Antonin Scalia in a case over the religious use of peyote, which held that religious practice does not create exemptions from broadly applicable laws. That ruling has long been a target of the conservative legal movement, and the case is the court's latest on religious rights.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
Action PrintingU.S. job openings jumped to 7.5 million in September, the most since May
U.S. employers posted 7.5 million job openings in September, up from a revised 7.19 million in August and the most since May, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to the Associated Press. Openings had fallen to a recent low of 6.9 million in March.
The monthly survey also showed hiring rose and layoffs fell in September. The AP said the gains are a hopeful sign that hiring could pick up, but the trend would need to hold for several months to signal real progress after nearly three years of sluggish hiring and historically low layoffs.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
Google will block search for students in schools that opt out of its AI tools
Google said Tuesday, Nov. 3, that students using its classroom software will not be able to use Google Search unless their school system also opts in to artificial intelligence, the Associated Press reported. The company has faced pushback from educators, child-development experts and parents since it turned on its Gemini chatbot for many K-12 Google Classroom users in August.
Under the change, schools can switch each Google tool on or off, including Gemini, Gemini Notebook and search, with each off by default until administrators turn it on. Because search is integrated with AI, schools that opt out of AI altogether also lose search.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
Oklahoma City man charged with mailing hundreds of hoax powder letters to officials before the 2024 and 2026 elections
Federal authorities have charged a 67-year-old Oklahoma City man with sending hundreds of letters containing white powder and warnings about treason to public officials ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, Nov. 3. The powder tested as yeast or flour, though not every letter has been fully tested, the FBI said.
He is charged with conveying a hoax and mailing threatening communications. He was arrested Monday and appeared Tuesday in federal court in Oklahoma City before returning to jail to await a detention hearing next week. Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg called it a calculated attempt to terrorize public servants.
Sources EverythingLubbock (AP)
