Texas Democratic governor candidate Gina Hinojosa rallied hundreds of voters in the name of saving public schools from funding cuts.
Hinojosa spoke to hundreds of volunteers at a Wednesday, June 17, virtual organizing launch for Team Texas Public Schools, a bipartisan organizing program designed to coach and engage parents, teachers, and administrators to fight school closures across the state.
“When I’m governor, I will first fire Mike Morath, because we need to put an educator in charge of our Texas Education Agency,” Hinojosa said. “We will wipe clean all the corrupt vendor contracts, and we will use that money to pay our teachers to be among the highest paid in the nation. I will pause the A-F accountability system because it is rigged, because we crave accountability, and what we have right now is not that.”
Hinojosa started her political career after her local school district tried to close her son’s school.
She served on the Austin Independent School District board and currently serves in the state legislature.
Hinojosa contends she has spent her career “fighting for our neighborhood schools, because access to a good education is enshrined in the Texas Constitution and the foundation to the American Dream. If people who love their public schools showed up to vote, it would be a new day in Texas, so let’s usher in that new day.”
Gov. Greg Abbott takes aim at religious extremism in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott criticized what he described as Muslim extremism in the state in a social media post on Wednesday, June 17.
The video highlights a portion of the speech at the Texas Republican Convention in Houston, held on June 11-13, in which he doubled down on “Texas being a state of law and order.”
“Texas is a law and order state and we’re going to keep it that way,” Abbott said. “There’s only one law that matters in the state and that’s Texas law. The next session, we need to leave no doubt by totally banning Sharia law in the state of Texas.”
Sharia law is the religious, legal and moral code of Islam. Derived from the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, it acts as a comprehensive guide for Muslims, dictating everything from daily prayers and personal ethics to finance, marriage, and criminal justice.
Throughout the campaign, Abbott has taken a firm stance on Muslim organizations in Texas receiving public funding, most recently for housing programs.
Important dates for 2026 Texas election
The last day to register to vote for the General Election is Oct. 5, either online, by mail, or in person.
Early voting starts Oct. 19 and runs through Oct. 30. The absentee ballot request deadline is Oct. 23 for mail requests or Oct. 19 for in-person requests. The absentee ballot return deadline is Nov. 3, by mail or in person on Election Day.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Kristian Jaime is the Top Story Reporter for the El Paso Times and is reachable at Kjaime@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Gina Hinojosa, Gov. Greg Abbott rally support in Texas governor race
Reporting by Kristian Jaime, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kristian Jaime, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
