Latino candidates across the country are chasing a string of firsts as voters cast ballots Tuesday. At the top of the list is Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who would become the first Latina governor in the state's history if she unseats Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

Hinojosa built her career as a lawyer on civil rights and labor cases and has represented part of Austin in the state House since 2017. She has built her campaign around public schools. The road is steep. Texas has not elected a Democrat statewide since 1994, so a win would also make her the first Democratic governor there since Ann Richards.

In California, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is trying to become the first Latino ever elected governor of the nation's biggest state. The son of Mexican immigrants faces Republican Steve Hilton. California did have a Latino governor in the 1870s, Romualdo Pacheco, but he rose from lieutenant governor and never won the office at the ballot box.

Firsts on both sides of the aisle

In Minnesota, Republican Michele Tafoya, the former sports broadcaster, is trying to become the first Latina Republican ever to serve in the Senate, which would also make her Minnesota's first Latina senator. She faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for the seat Tina Smith is leaving.

Two-time Latin Grammy winner Bobby Pulido is taking his Tejano music fame into politics, running as a Democrat against Rep. Monica De La Cruz in South Texas.

New ground in the House and statehouses

Democrat Denise Powell would be the first Latina to represent Nebraska in Washington. The businesswoman and co-founder of Women Who Run Nebraska is running in the open Omaha-area 2nd District. In Nevada, former state Assembly Majority Leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a social worker of Mexican descent, could be the first Latina from her state in the House.

Two more women are aiming for statewide firsts. Jefferson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez, an election lawyer, is running for Colorado secretary of state. Milwaukee Council member JoCasta Zamarripa, who became the first Latina in the Wisconsin Legislature in 2010, is seeking Wisconsin's secretary of state post. Either would be the first Latina in statewide executive office in her state.

By Wednesday morning, voters may have rewritten the record books in several states at once.