Democrat cites Valley roots in bid to challenge Republican Gov. Greg Abbott

McALLEN — One week after launching her gubernatorial campaign in her hometown of Brownsville, State Rep. Gina Hinojosa was back in the Rio Grande Valley Thursday to meet with supporters and discuss what she believes to be the most pressing issues for the state and the region.

Dozens of supporters filled the picnic benches in the covered outdoor area of Roosevelt’s at 7 Thursday evening. Some held signs with the phrase, “No te dejes,” a term she often heard from her grandmother that has now become a rallying cry for her campaign.

As the outdoor space filled, former Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa greeted supporters and posed for pictures. In spite of his own political career, one that included over 10 years serving as the Cameron County judge, he said that he never envisioned his daughter pursuing her own political career.

And yet, with her compassion for disenfranchised individuals and her devotion to social justice, he said that he is not surprised to see her entering the race for Texas governor.

“I’m very proud of her, first of all,” he said. “Secondly, I’ve seen politicians for many years. I’ve seen them run as candidates, seen how they work with other people, how they listen to the electorate. And not because she’s my daughter, but I’ve never seen anybody that pays more attention to what people want and what they express is important to them and their families. I’ve never seen anybody listen more than she does.”

When asked what sort of advice he’d shared with his daughter as her campaign kicks off, he indicated that he had little to offer her given her track record in the political sphere.

“I think she knows enough to know what needs to be done,” he said.

Prior to making her appearance, Gina Hinojosa sat down for an exclusive interview with MyRGV.com.

Gina Hinojosa, who currently lives in Austin, recalled spending her childhood in both Brownsville and Mission.

“I still have family here, so I always come to visit my family in Brownsville,” she said. “I was born in McAllen, grew up in Brownsville and went to public schools in Brownsville, but I would spend my summers in Mission because that’s where my grandparents lived.”

She said that Thursday’s visit was her fourth time visiting the Rio Grande Valley in four weeks. While she designates time to visit with her family during her trips to South Texas, she said that she has also been using the trips to meet with local leaders and learn more about the issues faced by Valley residents.

“I’ve been meeting with leaders in the Valley who are having to address the real needs of the people who they represent from different perspectives,” she said, recalling a meeting with local judges who expressed concern about the large volume of cases involving evictions and mental health commitments in their courts.

“It’s been interesting, and I’ve learned a lot,” she continued. “It’s been good, and people have been extremely warm, extremely trusting and welcoming of me and excited about this campaign.”

After graduating from Homer Hanna High School in 1992, Gina Hinojosa attended the University of Texas at Austin where she graduated as a Plan II Honors/Government Major in 1996. She continued her education and graduated from law school at the George Washington National Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1999.

She began her career as a civil rights and labor lawyer representing union members, including the Communications Workers of America Union.

As the daughter of legal aid lawyers, Gina Hinojosa was inspired to pursue a career in social justice and activism at a young age. However, when she learned that a number of Austin-area schools faced closure — including a school that her son attended — she decided to run for the Austin ISD school board, and thus began her political career.

She served on the Austin ISD school board from 2012 to 2016. Her experience included being chosen by her board colleagues to serve as board president in 2015.

It was that experience that has made education a priority for Gina Hinojosa. Motivated to provide more support for public schools, she ran for the Texas House in 2016, where she has since served five terms representing Texas’ District 49.

Now as a candidate for Texas governor, Gina Hinojosa joins a crowded Democratic primary field that already includes Houston businessman Andrew White (son of former Gov. Mark White), retired firefighter Bobby Cole, and Bay City Council member Benjamin Flores.

If successful, she would then face Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Since taking office in 2015, Abbott has been seemingly unbeatable — Democrat Beto O’Rourke gave the governor his closest contest in 2022, and still lost by an 11% margin — and has continued to garner support by way of gargantuan fundraising efforts.

Despite that, Gina Hinojosa said that she wants to be a governor for the people who will push back against moneyed interests.

“One of the inspirations for this run is all the vendor contracts I saw on the Public Education Committee that are the priority legislation of the governor,” she said. “Schools are shutting down all over the state. Teachers are leaving the profession because they’re underpaid and not respected. Parents are upset that their schools aren’t getting the school safety money they need.”

Gina Hinojosa has been vocally opposed to the Texas Education Agency’s takeovers of school districts. She was also critical of Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, who was appointed by Abbott in 2016.

“I don’t trust him,” she said. “Many school community leaders don’t trust him for a host of reasons I can go through. We need a new TEA Commissioner, somebody who is an educator. He’s not right, he’s a tech executive.”

When asked how her campaign will differ from others that have challenged Abbott, shesaid that the timing is advantageous to her. While the November 2024 election proved to be very successful for Republicans and President Donald Trump, she said that the midterms could be very different this time around.

“This is now our second chance,” she said.

As for her other priorities for her campaign, Gina Hinojosa said that she wants to address problems with the prison-industrial complex and look to address issues of homelessness and mental health. She also said that she will focus on fixing the healthcare system and focus on immigration reform — two issues that she sees having a substantial effect in the Rio Grande Valley.

“Everybody knows somebody here that has been detained or deported,” she said. “Everybody … has a story. People are angry and people are scared. I just had somebody come tell me last night at an event about their husband, who was DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), asking ‘Is he safe?’ Nobody’s safe right now because everybody is treated the same.”

Minutes before taking the mic and addressing her supporters, she reflected on her experience growing up in the Rio Grande Valley and how it has shaped the trajectory of her political career.

“Growing up in the Valley was a real gift because I never knew I was a minority. I thought everybody was Mexican,” she said with a laugh. “I never felt less than. I always felt like my culture was the dominant culture, and it gave me the confidence that I’ve taken with me in life through everything I do, and I’m very thankful for that.”

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