State Rep. Gina Hinojosa enters race for Texas governor

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — State Representative Gina Hinojosa announced she is running to become the first Democratic governor in Texas in 30 years. The Rio Grande Valley native will officially launch her campaign in Brownsville on Wednesday night.

Hinojosa started her career as a labor lawyer before being elected to the Austin Independent School District school board. She was elected to the State House in 2016 and has served the Austin area in the Capitol since.

Hinojosa has been a vocal proponent of public education in her time at the Capitol. She was one of the loudest opponents — along with her Democratic House colleagues — against the effort to create education savings accounts (ESA) in Texas. ESAs give families public dollars to help them pay for a private education for their child.

ESAs were a huge priority for Gov. Greg Abbott, who is running for his fourth consecutive term as the top official in the state. According to a poll conducted by The Texas Politics Project in August, 40% of those polled said they either strongly or somewhat approved of Abbott, while 50% said they either strongly or somewhat disapproved of him.

Hinojosa joins a crowded Democratic primary. Andrew White, who campaigned for the Democratic nomination in 2018, announced his campaign in September. Hinojosa will also go up against Bobby Cole, a retired firefighter and poultry producer; Nick Pappas, a retired United States Marine; and Meagan Tehseldar, a teacher.

Abbott is currently facing one challenger in the Republican primary. That is Ronnie Tullos, a full-time construction worker and part-time police officer.

Hinojosa will make her official campaign launch in Brownsville at the Historic Alonso building at 6:30 p.m.