AUSTIN — Gina Hinojosa is trying to knock one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s attack ads off Texas television, accusing his campaign of falsely claiming she voted 40 times to raise taxes.
The Democratic candidate for governor sent cease-and-desist letters this week to stations airing the spot, demanding they stop running it and retract or correct its claims.
Hinojosa’s attorneys said in the letter that the ad damages her reputation by falsely telling voters she repeatedly voted to raise taxes and that Abbott’s campaign is liable for defamation.
It was unclear which stations received the letter. Abbott’s campaign has spent $12 million to air the ad across the state.
Hinojosa campaign spokesman Tommy Kubitschek said Abbott should defend his record and the ad on a debate stage. “Instead, he’s lying to Texans, plain and simple.”
Abbott campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said Hinojosa’s actions were a “desperate use of lawfare to pull ads that expose her horrendous voting record on property taxes.”
“Texas voters need to understand – Gina wants to raise your taxes. Period,” Frazier said.
Abbott’s legal team also sent letters to TV stations stating that Hinojosa mischaracterized the law and that the ad was based on her legislative record.
The political spot accused Hinojosa of voting 40 times to increase taxes in the Legislature. But many of the votes were against bills designed to limit how quickly local property tax revenue could grow.
For instance, 11 were procedural votes against a 2019 bill that reduced the pace that property tax rates increase by limiting how much local governments can collect in revenue.
None of the votes directly raised property taxes.”raised property taxes. The Legislature does not levy property taxes – cities, counties, school districts and other local taxing entities do.
Abbott has said that himself in a different ad he ran last month. “The state of Texas does not impose the property tax. Only local governments impose property taxes,” he said.