When early voting opens Monday, Grayson County ballots will list three candidates for governor: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, Democrat Gina Hinojosa and Libertarian Pat Dixon. Hinojosa launched her campaign a year ago as a long shot, and the contest between the two major-party nominees has since tightened, according to a Texas Tribune profile of her published Friday.
Abbott, who won each of his three previous races for governor by double digits, has trailed in five public polls, the first time that has happened in any of his campaigns, the Tribune reported. Other surveys still favor him. A Marist University poll released Wednesday had Abbott ahead by four points overall, and election forecasters continue to lean the race toward Republicans.
No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994.
The money gap
Abbott holds a large spending advantage. He has put nearly $100 million into advertising, compared with a little more than $16 million for Hinojosa's campaign, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact, as cited by the Tribune. One in five likely voters told pollsters last week that they did not know enough about Hinojosa to have a view of her.
What each side is saying
Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat serving her fifth term in the Texas House, a labor lawyer and a former Austin ISD board president, built much of her legislative career around public schools and helped lead opposition to the private school voucher program lawmakers passed in 2025.
Her campaign is pitching full funding for public schools, $1,500 checks for Texas families and cuts to what she calls government waste. She has campaigned on rural frustration over data centers and Flock license plate cameras, and has largely steered clear of social issues. Her advisers told the Tribune her path depends on Latino voters and suburban women unhappy with the state of public education.
The Abbott campaign describes her as a high-tax liberal and has focused on her House votes against some property tax measures and against a constitutional amendment barring a state income tax. In a statement this week, campaign spokesperson Catherine Frazier said Hinojosa had cast 40 votes to raise taxes and supports a state income tax, and accused her of trying to rewrite her record.
