Texas governor candidate Gina Hinojosa discusses economy, data centers, energy and more with KSAT
Recent polls show Hinojosa is within just one point of Gov. Greg Abbott making it an extremely tight race
Courtney Friedman, Anchor/Reporter
Adam B. Higgins, Photojournalist
Published: August 11, 2026 at 7:48 PM
SAN ANTONIO – State Rep. Gina Hinojosa said recent polls show her within one point of Gov. Greg Abbott in the race for Texas governor, while other surveys show a gap of seven to eight points
“Last week, A&M had me at one point down. The week before that, Fox News had me one point down,” Hinojosa said. ”So this race is within the margin of error. We are in a statistical tie with Greg Abbott.”
Hinojosa said she is crossing the state speaking with both Democrats and Republicans
“Politics is all mixed up in 2026, and I think what it is is this energy for change, anti-incumbency energy,” she said. ”It is not that people are suddenly, yay, Democrat. They’re just like, whatever this is, we want change.”
Last week, KSAT’s Courtney Friedman interviewed Abbott about his new energy plan to break monopolies
On Tuesday, she sat down one-on-one with Hinojosa, asking about her priorities and confidence level with recent poll numbers
Watch the full interview below:
Hinojosa addressed several key issues during the interview, including public schools, data centers, energy and the economy:
Friedman: What conversations are you having with people who maybe have voted conservative before, who are opening up to the option of voting for you?
Hinojosa:I have MAGA moms supporting me in this campaign who see our schools are in crisis. We have over 150 schools shutting down, a lot of them here in San Antonio, actually. We’ve launched TeamTexasPublicSchools.com, and it’s an effort for people who love their public schools and are ready to fight for them. It is not coded Democrat or Republican because I do have Republican supporters who see this
Friedman: How does that work? What is the actual protocol for making this happen?
Hinojosa:Basically, DOGE the Texas Education Agency or scrub it, audit it, to make sure that every dollar we’re spending is prioritized for the classroom
Data centers
Friedman: One of the top topics is data centers. The governor just talked about a moratorium and these audits
Hinojosa:In 2015, Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that would give these giant data centers tax breaks for 20 years. So they don’t have to pay any sales tax on the electricity they consume, and they consume a ton. So people are mad, in these rural areas especially. They’re about water being sent to the data centers instead of their communities. They’re mad about pollution. They are mad about noise
What Greg Abbott did with his temporary pause is tell all these data centers, get your project in now because next year we’re going to work with the legislature to put real protections in the law
We need Governor Abbott to call a special session today. He has the sole power to provide real legal protections for people
Economy
Friedman: What are the key points that you want people to know about how you can make things more affordable on a day-to-day basis?
Hinojosa:Great question, and so what I have proposed is $1,500 money in your pocket to every Texas household. That comes out of our rainy day fund that is capped and overflowing at $27 billion. It’s never been that high. It has historically been at $10 billion
Energy
Friedman: I reported and talked to the governor last week about his energy plan that was put forth to disperse the energy sector to break up so-called monopolies. What’s your opinion on that?
Hinojosa:I think he’s trying to distract from the fact that everybody’s utility bills, electricity bills, have gone up about $40 or more a month after Winter Storm Uri. When we had the blackout and gas companies withheld the gas that our grid needed until they could make record profits, billions in mere hours, Greg Abbott let that happen
Your local CPS (Energy) sued to try to protect the ratepayers and just lost that lawsuit maybe last month or two months ago, and because they were not able to prevail in court, your electricity bills are going to go up in a big way in the coming year … and that’s what your City Council is trying to figure out right now
We need a guarantee that we freeze rates and make industry pay its fair share. Greg Abbott’s proposal only ensures profits for for-profit companies who are in the business of utilities. When you compare these municipally owned utilities to the private sector in the rest of the state, you’ll see that you all get a better deal
Big Bend
Friedman: The border wall going through Big Bend and those areas. What is your comment on that and this border wall security?
Hinojosa:We need a governor who will stand up for our land rights, property rights, and our sovereignty, and that is not happening. What is happening right now is a travesty for all of us. We know the beauty of the Big Bend region; those of us who have visited, it takes our breath away, and it is being decimated right now by these federal contractors. I am against that, and I would use whatever power as governor in court to try to stop it
Turning Texas blue
Friedman:We’ve seen a lot of great poll numbers before. Do you actually think you can turn Texas blue?
Hinojosa:I wouldn’t be spending a year of my life away from my family, I still have a son at home, doing this campaign if I didn’t believe we could win
It’s not just the polling, but we’re seeing Democrats win all over this state where they haven’t won in a long time, sometimes ever. I was just in the Houston area. They flipped a mayor’s seat in Pearland. We know about Leander, flipped their mayor’s seat, a city council seat. We knew about Tarrant County, flipped a state senate seat, swung it 31 points
I received twice as many votes in the primary as Beto did in 2018, and I had eight opponents, and that’s because people are motivated for change
Talarico connections
Friedman: How closely is your campaign and James Talarico’s campaign keeping tabs, communicating, because this is also a really big surge that we’re seeing over there
Hinojosa:We’re friends. We sit next to each other on the floor of the House. In 23, we were co-chairs of the effort to stop vouchers. We were successful in that effort. We both sit on the Public Education Committee, and our teams talk daily. So yes, he’s running a fantastic campaign
He helps me. I help him, and it is a historical first. We have two strong campaigns at the top of the ticket, and that just makes for better chances for both of us
KSAT has requested a one-on-one interview or a statement twice from Abbott to go over his top campaign priorities as well. The campaign team has not sent a response yet. Any future statements will be updated in this story
Last week during talks about a new energy plan, Abbott spoke to the press about his new Keep Texas Affordable Initiative that promises cheaperinsurance premiums,energy bills, tuition and more
Read also:
- Gov. Abbott announces plan to break energy monopolies in cities like San Antonio, Austin
- Reactions flowing in after Gov. Abbott announces plan to break up energy sector in San Antonio, Austin
- Governor’s new energy plan fuels debate about CPS Energy payments going into City of San Antonio general budget
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