Gina Hinojosa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gina Hinojosa
Hinojosa in 2024
Governor-elect of Texas
Assuming office January 19, 2027
Succeeding	Greg Abbott
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 49th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2017
Preceded by	Elliott Naishtat
Personal details
Born	Regina Inez Hinojosa (1973-12-08) December 8, 1973 (age 52) McAllen, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	John Donisi
Children	2
Parent	Gilberto Hinojosa (father)
Education	University of Texas at Austin (BA) George Washington University (JD)
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Website

Regina Inez Hinojosa (born December 8, 1973) is an American leader and attorney. She is the governor-elect of Texas. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Texas House of Representatives. She represented the 49th district beginning in 2017. Her home district covers parts of central Texas, including the capital city of Austin.

Before she made laws for the state, Hinojosa worked as a lawyer helping workers and everyday people. She was also chosen by voters to serve on the local school board in the Austin Independent School District. In that role, she worked hard to help students and keep neighborhood classrooms open.

In November 2026, Hinojosa won the statewide race to become the next governor. She defeated incumbent governor Greg Abbott. This victory made her the first Democrat elected as governor of Texas since Ann Richards won in the 1990 election. She is also set to become the first Hispanic governor in the entire history of Texas.

Early Life and Growing Up in Texas

Hinojosa speaking at the Texas Democratic Party's 2014 convention

Regina Inez Hinojosa was born in McAllen, Texas, on December 8, 1973. Her father is Gilberto Hinojosa, who worked as a judge and served as the leader of the Texas Democratic Party. Her mother, Crisanta Guerra Lozano, worked as an attorney helping families who needed legal aid. Her family has Mexican roots, and she grew up learning about community service and public life.

Hinojosa grew up in the border city of Brownsville. During warm summer vacations, she traveled to stay with her grandparents in Mission. In 1992, she finished high school at Homer Hanna High School. She enjoyed learning about government, history, and community leadership from an early age.

After high school, Hinojosa moved north to attend college at the University of Texas at Austin. She joined the honors program and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government in 1996. Next, she moved to Washington, D.C., to study law at the George Washington University Law School. She earned her law degree, called a Juris Doctor, in 1999. During law school, she also spent a term at the University of Texas School of Law, where she met her future husband.

Working for Workers and Local Schools

Helping Workers and Families

After finishing law school, Hinojosa began her professional career in legal work. She worked for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which is a large labor union. In this job, she defended public employees, helping them get fair treatment and safe workplaces. She also worked for the law firm of Kator, Parks & Weiser.

She spent time helping families through Catholic Charities USA. She also worked with groups like Texas Rural Legal Aid and the Equal Justice Center. In 2005, she joined a group of lawyers who brought a legal case against U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay regarding state election rules.

Saving Pease Elementary School

In 2012, Hinojosa became involved in local education issues when Pease Elementary School faced the threat of closing. Her son attended classes there, and neighborhood parents wanted the historic school to stay open. To solve the problem, she ran for a seat on the school board for the Austin Independent School District.

Voters elected her to the board, and she quickly started working with teachers and parents. Her efforts succeeded, and the elementary campus remained open for students. She served on the school board until she decided to run for the state legislature in 2016.

Serving in the Texas House of Representatives

First Years in the Legislature

In 2016, Hinojosa ran to represent the 49th district in the Texas House of Representatives. She won her election and took office in January 2017. Her predecessor in that seat was Elliott Naishtat. During the 85th Texas Legislature, she focused on protecting vulnerable young people.

During the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019, Hinojosa focused on healthcare and emergency relief. She helped create the Healthy Texas Act plan to provide medical care to all families. She also wrote House Bill 1307, which created a simple system for families hit by natural disasters to get emergency aid. That bill passed both chambers and became Texas law.

Defending Fair Rules and Public Services

During the 87th Texas Legislature in 2021, Hinojosa worked on civil rights and fair laws. She filed House Bill 73 to protect victims of violent crimes from unfair courtroom defenses.

Later that summer, lawmakers debated big changes to state voting laws. Hinojosa and other lawmakers took part in an organized protest by leaving the state. They wanted to stop rules that banned 24-hour voting and drive-thru voting booths. Their effort delayed the vote and helped remove several unfair parts of the plan before the bill passed.

In 2023, during the 88th Texas Legislature, Hinojosa wrote an education bill called the Fully Fund Our Future Act. Her bill proposed spending 40 billion dollars on public schools across Texas. The plan included a $15,000 raise for full-time teachers and a $5,500 raise for school helpers. It also planned to give an extra $2 billion to support special education programs. Governor Greg Abbott opposed increasing school funding unless lawmakers agreed to approve a school voucher system. Because lawmakers did not agree, public schools did not receive extra funding that year.

Major Debates in 2025

In early 2025, Hinojosa created an online tool for the public. It showed how much funding local classrooms might lose under private school voucher programs. When Governor Abbott said critics were not telling the truth about vouchers, Hinojosa defended her research publicly and invited him to discuss school math.

In August 2025, lawmakers argued over new voting district maps during the 2025 Texas redistricting debate. Hinojosa joined 50 other representatives in a quorum bust, leaving the state so there were not enough members present to vote. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the Texas Supreme Court to remove them from their offices. The lawmakers returned, the maps passed, and a nationwide debate began with the cycle of redistricting. In May 2026, the state supreme court dismissed the case against the absent lawmakers.

Running for Governor in 2026

The Primary Race

On October 15, 2025, Hinojosa announced that she was running for Governor of Texas. She entered the primary election for the Texas Democratic Party. Her opponents included Chris Bell, who was the Democratic candidate for governor in the 2006 election. On March 3, 2026, Hinojosa won the primary contest with nearly 60 percent of all votes cast.

The Campaign Against Greg Abbott

The race between Hinojosa and incumbent Republican governor Greg Abbott attracted attention across the United States. Abbott had served as governor for many years and collected large campaign funds. Between July and September 2026, Hinojosa raised more than $13 million, while Abbott raised over $20 million.

Abbott decided not to participate in public debates with Hinojosa before the election. In response, Hinojosa held an event in front of an empty speaker stand outside the Governor's Mansion in Austin. She earned endorsements from teachers through the Texas State Teachers Association and from labor groups like the Texas AFL-CIO. She also received support from newspapers like the Houston Chronicle and organizations like EMILY's List.

Political analysts at the Cook Political Report thought the race favored the Republicans. Major news organizations like USA Today called her a longshot, and the Associated Press described her as an underdog who ran without huge national party funding. Hinojosa ran as a populist, which means a leader who focuses on everyday people. She spoke about anti-corruption, lowering household expenses, improving neighborhood classrooms, and opposing new AI data center construction.

A Historic Election Victory

On election night in November 2026, Hinojosa defeated Abbott in an unexpected upset victory. She won more than 52 percent of the vote, ending 36 years of Republican leadership in the Texas governor's office. At the same time, Democrats won enough seats to control the Texas House of Representatives, though Republicans kept control of the Texas Senate.

During her victory speech, Hinojosa promised to work for all people living across the state. She stated that her main goal was helping regular families succeed, protecting public education, and keeping living costs affordable.

Ideas and Key Policies

Schools and Student Learning

Hinojosa believes that public schools are the heart of local communities. She opposes using public tax money to pay for private school tuition through vouchers. She argues that vouchers take away vital money from small-town schools and city classrooms that face teacher shortages.

Hinojosa also wants to change how students are tested in school. She wants to end the large yearly tests known as the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. She believes that heavy testing causes too much stress and takes away valuable learning time. She has also opposed state takeovers of local school districts, such as the Houston ISD takeover managed by education commissioner Mike Morath. In addition, she believes that public classrooms should limit the use of new AI software for elementary students.

Technology and Computers

Hinojosa supports strong regulations on artificial intelligence systems. She argues that private tech companies should not write their own rules without government oversight. She supports adding an emergency kill switch to advanced computing programs to guarantee safety through AI capability control.

She has strongly criticized the rapid spread of computer centers across Texas. During her campaign, she led the opposition to data centers. She argued that large data center buildings use huge amounts of clean water and electricity, which raises utility bills for normal families. She asked for a freeze on building new centers until new rules protect local communities and water resources.

Everyday Expenses and Energy Costs

Hinojosa made living costs a central topic during her campaign. She proposed freezing residential electricity rates so energy bills do not increase unexpectedly for families. She suggested paying for this by making large commercial computer centers pay for their own electricity upgrades.

To help Texans deal with high prices caused by global events, like the 2026 Iran war fuel crisis, she supported pausing the Texas state gas tax. She also proposed sending a one-time refund check of $1,500 to Texas households using money from the state savings fund. To make housing cheaper, she introduced a plan to stop large investment companies from buying up neighborhood houses.

Borders and Legal Rights

Hinojosa spent part of her early legal career working for immigrant rights through Catholic Charities USA. When she served in the Texas House, she voted against state border enforcement programs like Senate Bill 4 and the state-funded Operation Lone Star. She argued that border security should follow national rules and treat people humanely.

She has called for close reviews of actions taken by federal agents from ICE.

Election History

Texas House of Representatives

Gubernatorial Elections