Hinojosa Brings Governor Campaign to Rio Grande City, Banks on Valley Turnout to Beat Abbott

Greg Abbott has never faced a challenge quite like Gina Hinojosa. First, she's Mexican-American. Second, she's a woman. And even though he easily won against Wendy Davis, this candidate has something Davis didn't: she's puro 956.

The Brownsville native and five-term state representative stopped by Caro's Restaurant in Rio Grande City on Monday to talk with local voters about her campaign. The event drew family and local Democratic officials who turned out to support her candidacy.

"Everything has gone up and the governor doesn't do anything about it," Hinojosa told attendees. She coined a phrase for the phenomenon. "It goes up because we're all paying the Greg Abbott corruption tax."

Abbott's approval rating hit 40 percent in August 2025 according to the Texas Politics Project, marking an all-time low in polling since 2014. "This is an all-time low, and so people are done with him. They don't like him. So I'm running to win."

Hinojosa outlined her path to victory based on Latino voter turnout. "In 2018, Beto got 64% of the Latino vote. Guess what happens when I get 64% of the Latino vote in 2026? I win. Because there's more of us now, right?"

She pointed to the 2018 midterm election when Democrats picked up twelve seats in the Texas House with Trump in the White House. "You're already seeing it across this country that Democrats are winning where we haven't won in a long time. And it's happening in Texas, too."

Hinojosa explained her motivation for running. She has a fourteen-year-old son, Pablo, at home. "I would rather be with him right now, but I do this for him. And I do this for our kids because the way the world is going right now, this is not what I want my son to inherit."

The candidate grew up in Brownsville and graduated from Hanna High School before earning her Plan II Honors degree from UT Austin and her law degree from George Washington University. She worked as a civil rights and labor attorney, including on the legal team that sued Tom DeLay in 2005.

"The Valley is going to be, and South Texas is going to be, essential in this race for governor," she said.

Starr County Judge Eloy Vera attended the event and carefully navigated political endorsement restrictions. "I can't endorse anyone, but I can endorse the Democratic Party. I can endorse a party, I cannot endorse a candidate. So believe me, I'm 100% behind the Democratic Party."

The judge has a longtime friendship with Hinojosa's father, Gilberto Hinojosa, the former Democratic Party Chairman who stepped down following Kamala Harris's presidential loss. The elder Hinojosa rarely speaks at his daughter's campaign events but made an exception for Rio Grande City.

"I've been connected to this county for so many years," Gilberto told the crowd. He addressed recent electoral history in South Texas. "Last time around, every South Texas county voted for Donald Trump. And now you see the consequences of that."

He listed what he described as state-level failures. "They're going to cut off health care from millions of people in this state. And you don't see this governor lifting a finger to try to stop that. And he could."

Gilberto referenced Abbott's rejection of Medicaid expansion and questioned spending practices, saying how the governor has given billion dollars of tax payer's money in no-bid contracts. "What would happen to you if you did that, Judge?" he asked Vera.

"You'd go to jail," was the answer.

The former chairman described his daughter using a Spanish phrase. "I raised this young lady, and one thing I can tell you about her es peleonera. Le gusta pelear y no se raja."

Gina acknowledged that description. "I can vouch for that."

Gilberto outlined her background. She served as Austin ISD school board president when the district hired its first Hispanic superintendent. "She was the president of the school board in a city that's only about 15% Latino. She got elected citywide by a margin of two to one."

She won her first state House race by defeating seven opponents without a runoff, capturing almost 60 percent of the vote. Current Democratic primary polling from the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University shows her with 41 percent support compared to 6 percent for her closest opponent. Another 42 percent of likely Democratic primary voters remain undecided.

"Right now, she's got five or six opponents, and polling shows her with 41% of the support in the Democratic primary. Her closest opponent is 6%, and then 42% of them are undecided, which means that she will likely win without a runoff by a large margin."

Gilberto emphasized the importance of Valley turnout. "There's a million and a half people in the Rio Grande Valley or more. We're all 95% Hispanic, right? We're the ones that are being hurt the most by what's going on in Austin and Washington, DC."

Local politicians and guests attended the meet and greet. Starr County Sheriff Rene Fuentes and Democratic Chair Jessica Vera were present alongside Rose Benavidez, president of the Starr County Industrial Foundation. In a county that voted red in 2024, the gathering represented a small wave of blue trying to turn the tide.

School vouchers came up during the discussion. "How many of y'all can afford a private school with a voucher that is going to be handed out on January 1? None of us can. This is for the welfare of the millionaires and for the wealthy," Gilberto said.

The meet and greet didn't end at the restaurant door. Looking every bit like a proud father, Gilberto Hinojosa walked everyone out to the parking lot. Climbing onto the back of his pickup truck, he started distributing his daughter's campaign signs along with steel posts. Gina is betting voters will give her that same kind of devotion. Abbott is seeking an unprecedented fourth term. She's betting the Valley won't give it to him.

@Santitos

@salinasmariasantos

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