‘Don’t mess with Texas moms’: The race for governor heats up
Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat from South Texas, is jumping into the race for governor. She announced her campaign on Wednesday, setting up what could become a marquee matchup against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in 2026.
“Our fight right now is against the billionaires and the corporations who are driving up prices, closing our neighborhood schools and cheating Texans out of basic healthcare,” Hinojosa says in a video launching her campaign. “That’s who Greg Abbott works for. I’m running for governor to work for you.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
Hinojosa will formally kick off her campaign in her hometown of Brownsville at a Blue Texas event—an intentional nod to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where Democrats are trying to claw back ground after the recent GOP gains among Latino voters. A Latina attorney and former school board president, she’s positioning herself as a defender of public education and a foil to Abbott’s education agenda.
She’s joining an already crowded Democratic primary field that includes Andrew White, a Houston businessman and son of a former governor, rancher Bobby Cole, and Benjamin Flores, a Bay City council member. Whoever emerges will face steep odds. Abbott has more than $87 million in his campaign account and has won three gubernatorial races by double digits.
In her launch video, Hinojosa leans heavily on her roots in the Valley, invoking her grandmother’s phrase—“No te dejes,” or “don’t let them push you around”—as a rallying cry.
“Don’t mess with Texas moms,” she adds.
Her message is as much about education as it is about taking on entrenched power. Hinojosa, whose district covers central Austin, has spent nearly a decade in the legislature making public schools her signature issue. She previously led the Austin ISD school board and says she decided to run for governor after her son’s elementary school faced potential closure because of state budget cuts.
That focus has put her squarely at odds with Abbott over private school vouchers, which she calls a “scam.” In the video, she contrasts her push to bolster school funding with Abbott’s pursuit of vouchers, which she argues would “devastate our schools.”
She also calls out Abbott for accepting $10 million from Pennsylvania megadonor Jeff Yass, one of the country’s most prominent voucher proponents.
“Abbott’s corruption runs deep. The billionaires he works for will not stop until they get what they want,” Hinojosa says. “As long as we have a governor that can be bought, we won’t have the Texas we deserve.”
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Her campaign is also highlighting her legislative record: securing nearly $1 billion in federal funding for indigent health care in Travis County, reducing standardized testing, and boosting teacher pay.
She also made headlines earlier this year when she joined dozens of Democrats in leaving the state to stall GOP redistricting plans.
Abbott isn’t exactly cruising toward the general. His close ties to President Donald Trump are already stirring legal and political trouble. After Abbott tried to send hundreds of Texas National Guard members to Illinois at Trump’s request, U.S. District Judge April Perry slapped down the move with a temporary restraining order, calling it likely unconstitutional. A federal appeals court quickly followed by putting the deployment on ice.
Abbott’s broader record also gives Democrats plenty to run against. This summer alone, he signed two sweeping culture-war bills—one targeting transgender Texans with a so-called “bathroom bill,” another restricting mail-order access to abortion pills—cementing the state’s role as a testing ground for hard-right legislation.
He also pushed Republicans to aggressively gerrymander congressional maps ahead of the midterms, successfully eliminating five Democratic-held seats through a special session.
Abbott’s campaign is already trying to frame Hinojosa as too liberal for Texas.
“Time and again, Gina Hinojosa chooses woke, extreme ideologies over the safety and security of Texas families,” campaign manager Kim Snyder says in a statement.
The task ahead for Hinojosa is daunting. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994. Trump carried the state by 13 points in 2024, and Abbott’s political machine remains formidable.
Still, Democrats are banking on a competitive midterm environment, with the state’s Senate race already shaping up to be another major fight.
Hinojosa may not have the money or name ID Abbott does—but she’s betting her message and her record on schools will resonate.
