From the Texas Tribune: Texas Rep. Gina Hinojosa on Wednesday announced she is running for governor in 2026, setting up a potential clash between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and one of the Legislature’s most strident critics of his school voucher program.
“Our fight right now is against the billionaires and corporations who are driving up prices, closing our neighborhood schools and cheating Texans out of basic health care,” Hinojosa, a five-term Democratic lawmaker from Austin, said in her campaign launch video. “That’s who Greg Abbott works for. I’m running for governor to work for you.”
Hinojosa’s entry expands a Democratic primary field that includes Andrew White, a Houston businessman and son of former Gov. Mark White, Bobby Cole, a rancher and retired firefighter, and Bay City Council member Benjamin Flores. Whoever wins the nomination will be a decided underdog against Abbott, who had more than $87 million in his campaign account at the end of June and has won all three of his gubernatorial races by double digits.
Hinojosa, a civil rights and union lawyer who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, formally launched her campaign at a rally in Brownsville on Wednesday evening.
In her campaign announcement video, the very first word out of her mouth was in Spanish.
Many large corporations have moved to Texas and provide millions of jobs there, including Elon Musk’s Tesla, X and SpaceX.
But Hinojosa declared in her video, “Our fight right now is against the billionaires and the big corporations.”
“Greg Abbott has been selling out Texans to the highest bidder for the last 12 years. I’m fighting back and running for governor to serve the people, not the corrupt elite,” Hinojosa claimed.
I’m running for governor.
For over a decade, Greg Abbott has made it easier for billionaires to profit while hardworking Texans struggle to afford groceries, housing, and healthcare.
But together, we can make Texas work for Texans again.
Join us: https://t.co/473GFDhYRM pic.twitter.com/oexGcIdtFj
— Gina Hinojosa (@GinaHinojosaTX) October 15, 2025
Esta latina busca destronar al gobernador republicano de Texas y hacer historia.https://t.co/puiCEKrC2v
— Noticias Telemundo (@TelemundoNews) October 15, 2025
“Texas is the Maker State,” Elon Musk had written on X Tuesday. Gov. Abbott responded with an “100%” emoji.
But now Hinojosa is vowing to go after the “makers.”
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) October 14, 2025
New: Texas Rep. Gina Hinojosa on Wednesday announced she is running for governor in 2026.
The five-term state lawmaker from Austin has homed in on education issues in the Texas House, becoming a primary foil to Gov. Greg Abbott on school vouchers. https://t.co/mDegOD02Ki
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) October 15, 2025
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