Texas Governor Greg Abbott is entering his twelfth year in office, and he is running to become the longest-serving governor in state history. His Democratic challenger, State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, is closing the gap, and Abbott is spending millions on negative ads and personal attacks.
Most polls still show Abbott ahead, but two recent surveys put Hinojosa in the lead. Abbott dismissed those numbers at a campaign stop in Gainesville, saying “polls don’t win elections, and polls are often wrong.” He added, “What I’m confident about is exactly where my campaign stands and the outcome — that I’m going to win this race.”
Abbott’s Long Road to This Race
Abbott first won the governor’s office in 2014, defeating his opponent by nearly 20 percentage points. Four years later, he won again by 13 percentage points. His closest call came in 2022, when he beat Democrat Beto O’Rourke by more than 880,000 votes — a margin of nearly 11 percentage points.
If Abbott wins again in November, he will pass the current record for Texas’ longest-serving governor. He is already the nation’s longest-serving governor currently in office.
The Attack Machine Turns On Hinojosa
Abbott spent most of this year campaigning without mentioning Hinojosa by name. That changed last month, when he posted an ad on social media calling out his opponent, writing “Don’t let Gina deceive you, Texas.”
Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett responded on social media, saying Abbott’s attacks showed he is nervous about the race.
The same day, Abbott’s campaign announced a $12 million ad buy against Hinojosa, targeting her voting record on property taxes in the Texas Legislature. One ad claims Hinojosa voted “more than 40 times for higher property taxes” in the state.
Hinojosa disputed the narrative in an interview with The Texas Newsroom. “I have never, not once, voted to increase property taxes, and anyone who says otherwise is lying,” she said. She says the 40 votes cited by Abbott’s campaign are being taken out of context; Abbott’s campaign argues they did give local officials more room to raise taxes.
Abbott’s campaign is also going after Hinojosa on education, public safety and policies around transgender Texans. In a post on X last month, Abbott shared an image of Hinojosa where an American Flag was digitally altered into a Transgender Pride Flag, writing the Democrat wants to turn schools into “a gender transition camp.”
What the Experts See
Kirby Goidel, a Texas A&M political science professor, says Abbott’s campaign likely calculated that “Here is a candidate whose polling better than we think she should, and it’s too close for comfort. And what we want to do is define her for voters.” Goidel noted Abbott’s significantly larger public profile and platform gives his campaign big influence.
Joshua Blank, research director for the Texas Politics Project at UT Austin, said Hinojosa took the space Abbott gave her in the summer to introduce herself to Democrats, making the race more competitive. The Hinojosa campaign’s focus on affordability could explain her stronger-than-expected polling.
Abbott is also making affordability a central campaign theme, touring the state under the “Abbott Affordability Agenda” to bring down property taxes and everyday costs.
Blank said other Republicans on the ballot like Paxton and Bo French could weigh down Abbott’s reelection bid. As Election Day approaches, Blank expects more voters, including undecided ones, will start paying attention.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs neither Abbott nor Hinojosa on their campaign tactics, instead judging each issue against the north star of individual freedom, small business, and avoiding concentrations of power, and reserves final judgment until the election reveals which candidate best serves the people of Texas. Abbott’s spending millions on negative ads and personal attacks is a matter of strategy, not principle, and Hinojosa’s defense of her record on property taxes is similarly tactical.
The paper’s north star does not condemn attack ads outright, but it does warn against concentrations of power — whether in government or in business — that can squeeze out individual freedom and small business. Abbott’s campaign’s $12 million ad buy, targeting Hinojosa’s voting record on property taxes, and his digital alteration of the American flag into a Transgender Pride Flag, fit that warning. So does Hinojosa’s response, which has framed the race as a contest over affordability rather than substance.
The election will reveal which candidate best serves the people of Texas, and the paper will judge them by the north star then. Until then, the paper watches the tactics, notes the spending, and waits for the outcome.
Key Facts Box
- Abbott has been governor for twelve years
- He would break the record for Texas’ longest-serving governor
- Two recent polls showed Hinojosa with a narrow lead
- Abbott’s campaign announced a $12 million ad buy
- One ad claims Hinojosa voted “more than 40 times for higher property taxes”
| Campaign Theme | Abbott | Hinojosa |
|---|---|---|
| Property taxes | Affordability Agenda | Disputes the 40-vote claim |
| Transgender policies | Attacks Hinojosa on X | Defends her record |
Abbott’s campaign has shown it will spend whatever it takes to hold the lead.
Source material: “Abbott ramps up attacks on Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, as Texas governor’s race tightens,” Houston Public Media.
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