Rep. Gina Hinojosa
Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat, has told at least two donors that she’s running for governor next year, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: A Hinojosa win in the Democratic nomination would set up a battle with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, seeking a fourth term, for the state’s Latino vote.
What they’re saying: “I’m running for governor,” Hinojosa told an Austin-area Democratic donor in an email. The donor did not want to be identified because it was a private exchange.
- Hinojosa’s campaign did not respond to an interview request, but Austin political consultant David Butts, an adviser to her campaign, tells Axios “she’s going to get in” — likely in the next couple of weeks.
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💰 Follow the money: Abbott’s campaign has a king’s ransom available to buy ads and mobilize voters — more than $86 million in cash on hand as of mid-July.
- Hinojosa’s campaign, by contrast, had a shade under $25,000 in cash on hand in its mid-July filing.
- Several other Democrats have already said they’re running, including Andrew White, a Houston businessman and son of the late Gov. Mark White. He has not yet filed a campaign finance report this election cycle.
- The filing deadline for primary candidates is Dec. 8.
Zoom in: The daughter of legal aid lawyers from Mission, Hinojosa went to high school in Brownsville before heading to Austin to attend the University of Texas — she graduated from the Plan II Honors program and then earned a law degree from George Washington University.
- She was elected to the Austin ISD school board in 2012 and first won her House seat, which covers central Austin, in 2016.
See here for the first mention we had of Rep. Hinojosa’s potential candidacy. She would join Andrew White, Benjamin Flores, and Bobby Cole if she follows through. Which I expect she will, as this very much has the feel of a rollout. And then, as is the case for everyone else running statewide, she’ll need to start raising some money. I look forward to the formal announcement.