Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat and South Texas native, is launching a run for Texas governor Wednesday, entering a crowded Democratic primary to challenge Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur fight right now is against the billionaires and the corporations who are driving up prices, closing our neighborhood schools and cheating Texans out of basic healthcare,\u201d Hinojosa says in a video launching her campaign<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s who Greg Abbott works for. I\u2019m running for governor to work for you.\u201d<\/p>\n The 51-year-old Latina attorney will kick off her campaign at a Blue Texas event in her hometown of Brownsville, a city in the Rio Grande Valley where Democrats are hoping to head off the significant gains made by Republicans with Latino voters in recent elections.<\/p>\n In her launch video, Hinojosa taps into her roots in the Valley, citing a Spanish phrase used by her grandmother, \u201cNo te dejes,\u201d to say she will \u201cfight back.\u201d<\/p>\n If she wins the Democratic primary, Hinojosa will face an uphill battle in the reliably red state. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994. President Donald Trump won there by 13 points in the 2024 election, and Abbott holds a firm grasp on the statehouse as he seeks a fourth term in office.<\/p>\n But Democrats are hoping the party will be competitive in next year\u2019s midterm elections, including a Senate race where both sides are expecting heated primaries.<\/p>\n Hinojosa, whose district includes central Austin, is expected to make education a top issue in her campaign. She previously served as president of the Austin ISD school board, campaigning for a seat after her son\u2019s elementary school faced potential closure due to state budget cuts. She recently sparred with Abbott over school vouchers, calling the proposal a \u201cscam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t mess with Texas moms,\u201d she says in her video.<\/p>\n Hinojosa also joined dozens of her Democratic colleagues in the Texas state House in fleeing the state to stall the Republican redistricting efforts this summer.<\/p>\n