LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – As Election Day inches closer, Democrat Gina Hinojosa is hoping Lubbock will support her bid against Governor Greg Abbott.
Hinojosa has served as the State Representative for Austin since 2016. She says now is the time to get Texas “back to basics”, and oust Governor Abbott, who is running for his fourth term.
Waste and vendor contracts
Hinojosa said waste, fraud and abuse exist in state government, but not among civil servants.
“We need to essentially ‘DOGE’ the Texas government. There is so much waste, fraud, and abuse, but it’s really not in the civil servants who show up to work their state job. It is in all of these vendor contracts that have amassed under Greg Abbott,” Hinojosa said.
DOGE is a reference to the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency. President Trump created the department through an executive order in 2025, with the goal of maximizing productivity within the federal government and eliminating redundancies.
She said she would “wipe clean” vendor contracts she called corrupt and use that money to pay teachers. She also said she would fire Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath and put an educator in that position.
Property taxes
Abbott’s campaign has claimed Hinojosa wants to increase property taxes. The campaign has accused her of voting 40 times to raise property taxes.
Hinojosa said she has never voted to increase property taxes. She said that when she was on the school board, “we lowered property taxes.”
She added Abbott is the only candidate in the race who has increased property taxes.
“He took over Houston ISD. He installed his board of managers after he got rid of the elected school board, and then they increased property taxes a year ago, October. So that is his record,” Hinojosa said.
She said the increase violates the state constitution, which she said prohibits a state property tax. She called it “taxation without representation.”
Income tax
Hinojosa said she does not support a state income tax, despite ads against her that claim she does.
“I have never, not once, supported an income tax,” Hinojosa said. “I think that [Governor Abbott] is trying to distract from the fact that property taxes have increased 75% or 80% under his watch.”
The ad, paid for by Texans For Greg Abbott, features an interview with Hinojosa that she says was filmed more than 10 years ago, before she became a state representative.
She said at that time, she understood property taxes were high because the state did not have an income tax. She said she now believes property taxes are high because of “grift in the system.”
$1,500 payments
As people across the state face an affordability crisis, Hinojosa said she wants to put money back into Texans’ pockets. She said the state’s so-called “rainy day fund” holds $27 billion and should be reduced to $10 billion.
She said the remainder would go to Texas households, which comes to $1,500 per household.
Hinojosa acknowledged the plan would need legislative approval. With the likelihood of Republicans maintaining control of the Texas Legislature, Hinojosa said it’s time for them to “put their money where their mouth is”.
“For as long as I can remember, Republicans have been running on shrinking government. That money belongs to the people. It doesn’t belong to politicians,” Hinojosa said. “I do think it is something that will garner support from my Republican colleagues as well as Democratic colleagues.”
When asked what makes her plan different from Trump’s recent promise of $5,000 for voters should the GOP maintain control after the election, Hinojosa said the state has the money.
“I think the difference is that we actually have the money and we’ve never had that much money hoarded in a savings account in Austin,” Hinojosa said. “So, I don’t know that Trump has identified where he’s going to get money to pay for these things that he talks about.”
Other affordability proposals
Hinojosa said she also wants to freeze electricity rates and suspend the gas and diesel tax.
She said she would ban “bad faith denials” by health insurance companies and rein in those companies. She also said she wants to bring back to Texas federal dollars tied to Medicaid expansion, which she said Texas has not adopted, to support rural hospitals.
Data centers
Hinojosa has also criticized Governor Abbott’s handling of data center development in the state. Specifically, she points to his signature on House Bill 2712 in 2015, which gave hyperscale data centers 20-year tax breaks.
She’s criticizing the governor’s “pause” on data center development, saying he’s playing politics. She claims development will resume in December if Abbott wins reelection.
Hinojosa said 35 data center permits have been approved since Abbott said he paused them. She claims she would keep a moratorium or ban in place until laws are passed.
“We have to put the people of Texas first. We can have robust, strong economic development in this state and also protect Texans and make sure Texans have a seat at the table,” Hinojosa said.
She said she wants people in rural communities to have a say in whether data centers come to their areas. She also called for increased transparency when deals are made to bring in data centers.
“So many of these deals on data centers between city governments and the data center are hidden by a non-disclosure agreement,” Hinojosa said. “Well, then people can’t meaningfully weigh in on that process. That is not appropriate.”
Appeal across parties
Hinojosa pledged to be a governor for all Texans, no matter their party. She said she has a positive history of working with Republicans in the Texas House and has good relationships with many of her Republican colleagues.
“My agenda is not a Democratic agenda. It is one that is a popular populist agenda, and it has support from Democrats and Republicans. It is to secure the American dream,” Hinojosa said.
Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.