Home to the centerpiece of Elon Musk’s Texas empire, Cameron County delivered overwhelming victories to Democratic candidates in 2026 despite the billionaire’s record-breaking political spending on Republican causes.
The result highlights a striking tension: One of the region’s most transformed by Musk’s economic investments also became one of the strongest supporters of candidates who openly challenged his political influence.
But Cameron County is not just the home of SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility near Boca Chica. It is also the home county of Democrat Gina Hinojosa, a Brownsville native who spent much of her campaign attacking what she characterized as Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s close relationship with Musk.
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Brownsville Mayor John Cowen Jr. called Hinojosa’s election victory over Abbott a “proud moment” for the city and said he looked forward to working with her administration.
Hinojosa vowed Thursday to work with Musk in Texas.
“We can have a strong working relationship with Elon Musk and his companies, but it has to be on our terms. We have always been a pro-business state, but data centers have moved into mostly rural communities and there are no rules to protect Texans, so the difference is we will have laws to protect Texans. We can have a strong economy and strong industry, and protections for Texans,” Hinojosa told CNN.
Newsweek reached out to Hinojosa’s campaign and SpaceX for comment.
How SpaceX’s Home County Voted in the 2026 Midterms
In Texas’ marquee races, voters in Cameron County backed James Talarico over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton by 68 percent to 30 percent. Hinojosa trounced Abbott in the county, 67 percent to 32 percent.
In 2024, President Donald Trump carried Cameron County with 52.5 percent of the vote. Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez narrowly defeated Republican Mayra Flores in one of South Texas’ most closely watched contests.
Two years later, Democrats dominated the county. Gonzalez won reelection with 62 percent of the vote, while Democrats swept major statewide contests, including governor, Senate, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
At an early-voting rally, Hinojosa framed the election as a choice between billionaire influence and ordinary Texans.
“Is this going to be a Texas that is by and for the people, or is this the billionaires’ world and we just live here?” she asked the crowd.
She accused Abbott of giving Musk “the keys to the castle” and pointed to disputes involving Boca Chica Beach, communications between Musk’s companies and the governor’s office, tax incentives and state economic-development decisions.
Hinojosa argued that rising costs and declining public services reflected what she called a “Greg Abbott corruption tax,” linking those concerns to the state’s relationship with major corporate interests, including Musk.
Rather than treating Musk solely as a donor, Democrats sought to make him a symbol of concentrated wealth and political influence. That argument was particularly potent in Cameron County, where residents experience both the economic benefits and local impacts of SpaceX’s expansion.
How Elon Musk Spent His Money in the 2026 Midterms
The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive spent more than $445 million backing Republican candidates and causes, including about $225 million in Texas races. Much of that spending was directed toward helping Paxton and supporting Republican turnout efforts. The Texas Senate race was the primary focus of Musk’s support.
Following the election, Musk responded on X: “guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time.”
Analysts have also suggested Musk’s growing profile may have become a political liability for some Republicans.
Speaking on Houston Public Media’s Hello Houston after the election, University of Houston professor Brandon Rottinghaus said Musk’s visibility had put him “on the ballot in a way” that was difficult for some voters to accept and argued that his presence “magnified” concerns about billionaire influence in politics.
Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project, said on the same show that Musk’s extensive business ties to Texas mean he is likely to remain a major force in the state regardless of who occupies the governor’s office.
If Democratic control ultimately drives major employers from Texas, Blank said, it would quickly become a political issue in future elections.
Where Is SpaceX’s Headquarters?
Few communities have benefited more visibly from Musk’s arrival than Cameron County.
Since SpaceX began developing Boca Chica into Starbase, the company has transformed a once-remote stretch of the Texas coast into one of the world’s most closely watched aerospace hubs. Company figures released in recent years said Starbase employed about 4,000 workers and contractors and spent tens of millions of dollars with suppliers throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Local officials have repeatedly highlighted the jobs, investment and economic activity generated by the project.
A 2025 local-impact report prepared by the company and released by Cameron County officials projected that SpaceX operations would generate more than $13 billion in gross economic output through 2026.
Eddie Treviño Jr., Cameron County judge, has credited the company with helping transform the regional economy through high-skill jobs and infrastructure investment, saying in 2025 that SpaceX’s commitment to the county had “transformed our local economy.”
The 400,000-resident county remains overwhelmingly Hispanic and has historically experienced lower incomes and slower economic growth than many other parts of Texas. Supporters argue SpaceX helped diversify the local economy and create high-paying technical jobs.
Abbott frequently made that case during the campaign.
“When you look at all the new jobs, not just added by Elon Musk, but look at all the new jobs added by these employers that are coming; those are high-paying jobs,” Abbott said during a Rio Grande Valley campaign stop, citing SpaceX among the companies investing in South Texas.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Edward T. Cummins
