IN THE NEWS: Hinojosa Outlines Populist Economic Policies, Calls Out Greg Abbott’s Culture War Distractions

Houston Chronicle: “Hinojosa said her answer is a populist campaign focused on affordability, public education and curbing the influence of monied interests in Texas politics.”

Corpus Christi, TX – This weekend, Gina Hinojosa made waves at the Texas Democratic Party convention, delivering a common-sense message centered on economic relief for working Texans. From the convention stage to national media appearances, Hinojosa called out both parties for losing sight of kitchen table issues, and made clear that her leadership will be defined by saving Texas public schools, putting money in Texans’ pockets, and taking on corporate power.

Hinojosa’s “speech sharply focused on populist economic politics and accused Republicans of fixating on culture wars to distract from what [she] cast[s] as the ruling party’s corruption and hollowing out of the middle class,” wrote the Texas Tribune.

“Pushing an affordability-first campaign, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa said Friday her own party has failed to connect with Texans on everyday economic concerns,” said the Houston Chronicle. Hinojosa told Pod Save America, “We get distracted by culture wars and social issues, but when we are fighting about those things, we are not talking about the thing that impacts all of us: can you afford to live and thrive in Texas? That has to be the fight.”

Following the convention, Hinojosa joined MS NOW to outline Democrats’ plan to win across Texas. “Greg Abbott is tearing us apart with our differences because he knows and he fears the truth: Together, we can take back corporate power and return that power and opportunity to the people of Texas,” Hinojosa said.

Throughout the weekend, Hinojosa made it clear: “My agenda is simple, and it is short. Save Texas schools, and put money in your pocket.”

See more below.

Pod Save America: Gina Hinojosa, Taking on Greg Abbott 

WATCH FULL INTERVIEW HERE

  • “I am running for governor of Texas because what I see in 2026 is that everything is on the line, and this is perhaps our last best chance to save what we hold dear in Texas and in this country.” 
  • “We are paying into a system that is working against us. It is one big grift. It is policy that is driven by moneyed special interest. And I refer to it as the Greg Abbott Corruption Tax. We pay more, we get less because we are all paying the Greg Abbott Corruption Tax.”
  • “What I am seeing across the state, what elections are showing in Texas, is that there is this anti-incumbency energy in Texas right now, and Greg Abbott offers more of the same. You use money to tell people who you are and what you’re about, and that’s his problem: people know who he is and what he is about, and they don’t want it anymore. They want change.”
  • “Greg Abbott has given a billion dollars in no-bid contracts to his donors. He’s the most corrupt governor in Texas history – and that’s saying something. We’ve never had this level of corruption, but every major challenge in Texas is about following the money: right back to Greg Abbott’s donors.”
  • “There is one fight. It is the fight about whether it is a country, a state that is by and for the people. That is the fight for the American Dream. I think we get distracted by culture wars and social issues, we take the bait all the time. But when we are fighting about those things, we are not talking about the thing that impacts all of us: can you afford to live and thrive in Texas? That has to be the fight.”
  • “The fate of the union depends on Texas in 2026.”

MS NOW: Texas Dem Gov. candidate hopes to flip state blue: ‘We are winning where we never have before’

WATCH FULL CLIP HERE

  • “Greg Abbott is tearing us apart with our differences because he knows and he fears the truth. The truth is together we can take back that corporate power and return that power back to the people of Texas.”
  • “We have the most people disconnected from their electricity of any state, the most people without health insurance, the most children without health insurance, the most bankruptcies of any state, despite the fact our property taxes have gone up 75%. I have a plan to put the American Dream back at the center of the table by saving Texas schools and putting money back in the pockets of Texans.”
  • “Democrats are winning where we haven’t won in a long, long time, and sometimes ever. It happened in Tarrant County, where we flipped a state senate seat in the most republican county in the whole country, in Cy-Fair outside Houston, in Arlington, in Denton, in Pearland; it is happening before our eyes, and it is because people want change. It is not necessarily that they are Team Democrat; it’s that, whatever this is, they want something different. It creates this opportunity. The excitement that we saw in the primary is an indication of that. I got twice as many votes in the primary in 2026 as Beto got in 2018.”
  • “This is the most important race in the whole country because the governor of Texas controls 10 % of Congress. Republicans in Texas have already said they are coming back next year to redraw maps after the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on redistricting that gutted the Voting Rights Act.”

Texas Tribune: James Talarico, Gina Hinojosa attack GOP with parallel populist pitches at Texas Democratic Convention

  • James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa, who will lead Texas Democrats’ ticket in November, closed the first full day of their party’s state convention Friday with speeches that sharply focused on populist economic politics and accused Republicans of fixating on culture wars to distract from what they cast as the ruling party’s corruption and hollowing out of the middle class.
  • Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor… rail[ed] against Gov. Greg Abbott as beholden to his wealthy donors and making working Texans worse off.
  • “He is masterful at the sleight of hand — no one is better at it,” Hinojosa said. “With one hand, up here, he points to your neighbor, so you don’t see his other hand down here in your pocket.”
  • The speeches from Talarico and Hinojosa, both of whom are state lawmakers from Austin, continued the anti-corruption theme Democrats up and down the ballot pushed while addressing the convention Friday. Hinojosa has dubbed higher everyday costs borne by Texans as the “Greg Abbott Corruption Tax,” pointing to alleged examples such as the governor’s prized school voucher program and no-bid contracts awarded by agencies helmed by Abbott appointees.

Houston Chronicle: Gina Hinojosa, Democrat for governor, says party must reclaim economic message

  • Pushing an affordability-first campaign, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa said Friday her own party has failed to connect with Texans on everyday economic concerns.
  • Hinojosa said her answer is a populist campaign focused on affordability, public education and curbing the influence of monied interests in Texas politics.
  • She said that rising costs, struggling public schools and economic inequality are the product of decades of Republican rule and a political system that rewards big donors over ordinary Texans.
  • “Greg Abbott is tearing us apart with our differences because he knows and he fears the truth: Together, we can take back corporate power and return that power and opportunity to the people of Texas,” she said in her convention speech.
  • Hinojosa, 52, has blasted Abbott for putting wealthy campaign donors ahead of ordinary Texans as he seeks an unprecedented fourth term. Her campaign placed billboards around Corpus Christi accusing Abbott of corruption ahead of the convention in the coastal city.
  • In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Hinojosa said Democrats can win by shifting voters’ attention from cultural fights to everyday concerns.

KXAN: Hinojosa targets Abbott, lays out economic agenda

  • Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa used her keynote address at the Texas Democratic Convention on Friday to frame the 2026 election as a battle over affordability, public education and what she called the growing influence of wealthy donors in Texas politics.
  • Speaking before thousands of delegates in Corpus Christi, Hinojosa repeatedly argued that the election is about whether Texas serves working families or corporate interests.
  • “There is one fight that unites us all,” Hinojosa said. “Is this the Texas that is by and for the people, or is this great state the billionaires’ world, and we just live here?”
  • Throughout her speech, Hinojosa criticized Gov. Greg Abbott’s record on education, economic policy and state incentives for large businesses, accusing him of prioritizing campaign donors over Texans.
  • “Greg Abbott built the biggest data center giveaway in the whole country,” she said. “The richest men in the world, his donors, are running up your electric bill, guzzling up your water while you pay for it.”
  • Hinojosa also attacked the state’s private school voucher program, arguing Abbott diverted public education funding after receiving major campaign contributions from voucher supporters.
  • “Greg Abbott also took a billion dollars from your neighborhood schools to give to unaccountable private schools for his voucher scam,” she said.
  • Hinojosa said her campaign will focus on two priorities: strengthening public schools and lowering costs for Texans.
  • “My agenda is simple, and it is short,” she said. “Save Texas schools… and put money in your pocket.”
  • Hinojosa closed her speech by urging Democrats to unite ahead of November, calling the race “our best chance in the last 25 years to win” and encouraging supporters to help build a coalition beyond the Democratic Party.

The Texas Newsroom: Texas Democrats leave convention united in effort to end GOP’s 30-year hold on Texas

  • Texas Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa said this election season, “is the only fight that matters in 2026.” She said the results will answer a big question for Texans.“Is this the Texas that is by and for the people? Or is this great state the billionaire’s world, and we just live here?” asked Hinojosa before the crowd during a nearly six-hour rally on Friday evening.
  • Hinojosa centered her Friday speech on public education, arguing Gov. Greg Abbott’s school voucher program has weakened Texas schools.
  • “Abbott devastated our schools when he passed his voucher scam, and he took six million dollars from an out-of-state billionaire dead set on defunding public education,” Hinojosa said. “As long as we have a governor who can be bought, we won’t have the Texas that we deserve.”

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