Texas elected a new governor, but ensured the Lone Star state stayed "red" with a Republican win Tuesday.

With voting polls closing at 7 p.m. local time, across Central and Mountain Time zones, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott will become the state's next governor. Abbott will succeed from Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who decided not to seek a fourth term.

As of 9 p.m. CST, Abbott received 59.37 percent to Davis' 39.11 percent with 12 percent of the precincts reporting. Abbott's victory came at the expense of Democratic candidate Wendy Davis, the state senator for Texas' 10th District. According to the Texas Secretary of State Office, Abbott led the early voting results as well as the same-day vote count.

Abbott published a tweet following projections of his victory, writing, "Thank you Texas for electing me Governor. With honor and dignity I will fight for you and your future. God Bless Texas."

Via Twitter, Davis wrote a series of tweets to supporters: "We celebrate that we live in a country in which the people get to decide their elected leaders [and] tonight the people of Texas have spoken. Being disappointed is okay. But being discouraged is not. Because we have before us an opportunity to remake this state in your image."

"This has always been [and] forever will be about you. What we've done here in this state [and] in this campaign is nothing short of extraordinary," Davis continued. "We won day by day because you never backed down. Your work is not in vain, [and] the only way we will have lost tonight is if you stop fighting."

Davis has been polling with a double-digit setback against Abbott. The Democratic candidate received nationwide attention following an 11-hour filibuster against an anti-abortion legislation in Texas.

The gubernatorial election was the first major election with mandatory photo identification laws for registered voters seeking to cast their ballot. The voter identification law encountered various court battles until the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas to enact the measure, in a 6-3 vote, despite calls it could disenfranchise voters, notably blacks and Latinos.

As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, approximately 600,000 voters would be turned away from voting locations due to lacking one of the seven valid forms of photo identification, according to the Department of Justice. The court's ruling also came on the final weekend before the state's early voting period started. Based on a University of Texas and Texas Tribune poll, registered voters said they support the voter ID law, with 67 percent as opposed to 22 percent against.

As Latin Post reported, Texas Secretary of State Nandita Berry said the state recorded more registered voters than in previous elections with 14.02 million people registered.

Abbott will become Texas' first new governor in 14 years, starting January 2015.

Updated 10:52 p.m. EST: Included statements from Wendy Davis following election loss.

__

For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.