(Texas Scorecard) – State Rep. Gina Hinojosa has announced she is running for governor, entering the race as the highest-profile Democrat challenger to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Hinojosa, who has represented Austin in the Texas House since 2017, launched her campaign on Tuesday, pledging to “fight for families across the state who are left out by a political system that favors insiders and wealthy donors.”
“I never wanted to be a politician—I was just an angry mom,” Hinojosa said in her announcement. “But I’ve seen firsthand how Governor Abbott’s rich donors run Texas at the expense of our schools, our communities, and working families. I’m running to put Texas families first, fight for our kids, and hold the powerful accountable.”
She joins Andrew White, son of former Gov. Mark White, in seeking the Democrat nomination.
Hinojosa’s campaign said she enters the race with more than 100 endorsements, including seven members of Congress, several state senators, and dozens of local officials, mostly from Austin and the Rio Grande Valley.
Her campaign platform highlights priorities such as lowering costs for families, opposing school choice, expanding access to healthcare, and “reining in corporate influence in politics.”
A former Austin ISD school board trustee, Hinojosa has been one of the Legislature’s most liberal members—vocal in her opposition to school choice legislation and bills aimed at protecting children from sexually explicit materials in school libraries.
She would be the first governor in modern Texas history from the Rio Grande Valley.
Gov. Abbott’s campaign quickly responded to the announcement, describing Hinojosa as a “radical” and “out of step” with Texans.
“Gina Hinojosa has proven that she is out of step with Texans,” said Abbott campaign manager Kim Snyder. “She sides with the defund-the-police movement, supports men competing in women’s sports, backs harmful child modification procedures, embraces reckless open border policies, and opposes critical bail reform that keeps dangerous criminals behind bars. Time and again, Gina Hinojosa chooses woke, extreme ideologies over the safety and security of Texas families.”
“Texans deserve a governor who will continue to secure the border, fight for safer communities, and uphold family values—not someone who supports failed, radical policies that hurt hardworking Texans,” Snyder added.
Abbott announced earlier this year he will seek an unprecedented fourth term.
