What Tuesday's election results mean for Texas

State of play: Democrats have won control of the Texas House, going from 62 seats in the 150-member chamber to at least 76, the AP projected Wednesday afternoon. That number could creep up, with a dozen races not yet called as of Wednesday afternoon.

• As of January, Democrats will control the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, agriculture commissioner and land commissioner. And when the House convenes in January, it is likely to elect a Democratic speaker as well.
• Democrats also won nine statewide appeals court seats — ousting eight Republican incumbents. A Democrat was leading in the vote counting in a 10th statewide judicial post yesterday.

Yes, but: The GOP retained its majority in the Texas Senate.

The big picture: An unpopular president and his policies drove votes for Democrats more than any other factor, political scientists tell Axios.

• Texas remains, in spirit, a red state, according to Southern Methodist University political science professor Cal Jillson, but Democrats will be increasingly competitive in future elections.

The intrigue: Democrats "earned an opportunity to solve some of the problems that voters believe Republicans ignored, and those problems will be very difficult to address," Jillson tells Axios.

• As they try to show they're worthy of voters' continuing trust, he says, they will have to tread carefully to ensure their changes don't seem too dramatic or too expensive for Texans.

What we're watching: How the incoming Texas leaders will approach transgender, abortion and gun rights during their tenure, if at all. The state's next legislative session begins in January.

The bottom line: "Now the question is, what do Democrats, some of whom didn't expect to be in office, intend to do with their new authority?" Jillson says.

The election's likely winners

💨 Hemp purveyors and consumers: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was zealous in his opposition to marijuana use. Not so Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin, who said earlier this week with regard to cannabis: "We should legalize and regulate and respect the personal freedom of Texans."

💸 Sports gambling: Ditto betting — Patrick nearly single-handedly quashed efforts to legalize betting that emerged from the Texas House. Goodwin has endorsed putting the matter to a statewide referendum.

🤝 Large cities: Republicans have long assailed — and cut down — rules passed by Texas' big cities — think tree protection ordinances and required rest breaks for construction workers. Now "Austin-bashing," as the Capitol sport is known, is likely to be rhetorical only.

🎒 Public schools and teachers: With Gina Hinojosa, a former Austin ISD school board president, occupying the governor's office, expect lawmakers to dedicate more money to public schools. Broader state budget issues notwithstanding, teachers could see a pay bump.

🩺 Women's health advocates: Lawmakers are likely to look for ways to loosen state abortion restrictions.

🩺 Medicaid recipients: Hinojosa has said she will aim to work with lawmakers to try to expand Medicaid coverage in Texas.

🎓 University professors: Efforts to wind down tenure protections and syllabus oversight at public universities are now dead. Whether Democrats pursue repealing diversity, equity and inclusion bans at public universities is an open question.

The election's likely losers

💿 Data centers: Hinojosa made opposition to data centers a central argument in her campaign.

💰 School vouchers: The GOP apparatus that promoted private school vouchers — spearheaded by Gov. Greg Abbott — is out. Look for Democratic lawmakers in the House to argue that voucher money should instead go to public schools.

😳 Conservatives: The Texas GOP is in disarray. The intraparty finger-pointing has already begun, and conservatives will have to figure out their game plan going forward as they try to reassert their Trump-tarnished brand.

🚀 Elon Musk: He went big in his support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's failed campaign for U.S. Senate and Abbott's reelection bid. A trillionaire, he won't miss the money he spent — $200 million, give or take — but the tax breaks and grants Musk's companies won under Abbott will be harder for him to come by.

🏛️ Republican appointees: In her victory speech, Hinojosa reiterated her pledge to fire Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, on her first day in office. And appointees whose terms are up — see, for example, Kevin Eltife, chairman of the University of Texas System Regents — are unlikely to be asked back.