AUSTIN — Texas’s first Latina governor pledged to abandon the extreme partisanship that she said has defined politics in this deeply red state for decades. But she has also made clear her determination to quickly undo many of her predecessor’s initiatives.
At a Thursday briefing where — unlike her predecessor, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott — she answered questions in English and Spanish, Gina Hinojosa said she had spoken with Abbott, who was “gracious” and assured her he would “fully cooperate” with the transition.
“People are tired of the divisions, of the fighting, of the culture wars. This is the time to come together in a way that is about just delivering for the people of Texas,” Hinojosa said at the University of Texas, just miles from the Capitol where for the next two months Republicans retain control of every state office.
Democrats flipped every statewide office and the Texas House. But Republicans still hold a majority in the state Senate where they can change rules to strip the new Democratic lieutenant governor, Vikki Goodwin, of agenda-setting powers before she takes office and effectively block Democrats’ priority legislation when the legislature reconvenes in January.
Hinojosa, 52, said she hopes Republicans work with, not against, her: “The people of Texas have spoken. I think it’s important as elected leaders that we respect what the people of Texas have said.”
“They want change. And I would hope the elected leaders don’t get in the way,” she said.
As the first Democrat to take the Texas governor’s mansion in almost four decades, Hinojosa faces a staggering to-do list, much of it focused on undoing GOP policies on health care, grocery and energy costs, public schools, public lands and data centers.
On the campaign trail, Hinojosa promised to declare a “high-cost emergency” in Texas and use executive orders to suspend state gas and diesel taxes and freeze electricity rates.
Hinojosa also vowed on her first day in office to declare a moratorium on data centers and to fire the state superintendent of schools, a software developer who has expanded state takeovers of local school districts and overseen a decline in student performance.
Hinojosa has said she plans to expand Medicaid (a provision of the Affordable Care Act that allows states to extend Medicaid health coverage to nearly all low-income adults), fully fund public schools including teacher raises, end state takeovers of school districts such as Houston, dismantle Abbott’s school voucher program and give every Texas household $1,500.
She predicted on Thursday those priorities could win support from Republicans in the legislature, pointing to a Republican former state representative, Ernest Bailes from South Texas, whom she had invited to join her team.
“I believe in Gina and I have faith that we will be able to do good things for the state of Texas. We will put partisanship aside,” Bailes said.
Hinojosa noted that they had worked together in the legislature on education issues and that “There are lots of issues where my good allies are Republicans.”
But there’s also a lot Hinojosa could do without Republican support, aided by lawmakers in the House, Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson and Comptroller-elect Sarah Eckhardt, state senators whom Hinojosa has worked with. Democrats took the Texas House with a comfortable margin, and are soon expected to elect a Democratic speaker and majority leader who can work in tandem with Hinojosa.
The new governor could also act unilaterally, although it’s not clear how far she’s willing to go.
Abbott used executive orders, emergency actions, disaster declarations, appointments, special legislative sessions and vetoes more than any previous governor, often to counter more liberal cities and counties.
He repeatedly renewed an emergency declaration at the southern border for the multibillion dollar Operation Lone Star, despite the number of migrant crossings dropping to record lows since the start of the second Trump administration. That move, along with other executive orders and disaster declarations, allowed Abbott to shift funds, pause regulations and award no-bid contracts. And he ordered the state law enforcement to assist federal immigration agents with the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Hinojosa largely avoided being drawn into the culture war during her campaign, saying that she preferred to focus on pocketbook issues. She has said the best place to fight the Texas GOP’s immigration measures is the bully pulpit and courts. In her victory speech, she rejected the GOP’s single party rule.
“This governor’s office does not belong to me, it does not belong to my party. We did not end one era of single party rule just to usher in another,” she said.
But just as Abbott worked with GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton to restrict abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, Hinojosa could work with Johnson to defend those rights — most immediately by dropping lawsuits Paxton will leave pending.
Johnson has said he will drop a lawsuit Paxton filed this year against a clinic that provides abortion medication by mail in Texas, and that he will not enforce restrictions on public restrooms for transgender Texans.
“Democrats are faced with something we haven’t faced in 30 years: Governance. Democrats need to do well and communicate well about what we’ve done,” Johnson said in an interview after his election, to “replace ideologues with public servants.”
Democrats will also have the Texas courts on their side, including a first-ever female majority and chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court and a majority on the Court of Criminal Appeals.
But some Republican lawmakers have already urged their colleagues to take action within the next 10 weeks to limit Democrats’ reach.
North Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, a right-wing social conservative, posted a petition on X after the election urging Abbott to call a special legislative session before Hinojosa is sworn in “to rein in executive emergency powers.”
Harrison said he worked with Hinojosa in the legislature, where he heard her express opposition to Abbott’s executive actions.
“If she wants to pursue Democrat policies, she better follow the Texas Constitution and put that before the legislature,” he said in an interview. “We should use every tool we have to protect the freedom and liberty and Texans.”
But veteran GOP Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston said he was not aware of coordinated plans by Republicans to strip the new lieutenant governor of her powers as Senate president.
Bettencourt said he advised colleagues, “It would be unwise to go and try to rip the president’s powers away from Ms. Goodwin after an election where the people put her there.”
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