3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 6
Summary
Gina Hinojosa, Texas’s first Latina governor and first Democrat elected statewide in nearly 40 years, said she will quickly unwind Greg Abbott-era policies while declaring an end to the state’s “culture wars.”
Her first-term agenda centers on costs and schools: a “high-cost emergency,” suspending state gas and diesel taxes, freezing electricity rates, expanding Medicaid, ending school takeovers and voucher programs, and giving each household $1,500.
Republicans still control the Texas Senate for the next session and could block much of that agenda, though Hinojosa said she expects some GOP support and highlighted former Republican lawmaker Ernest Bailes joining her team.
Democrats’ flip of every statewide office and the Texas House still gives Hinojosa room to act through allied statewide officials, a friendly House leadership and potentially broad executive powers Abbott used aggressively.
That prospect is already prompting Republican pushback, with some lawmakers urging action before January to curb emergency powers, even as Abbott told Hinojosa he would fully cooperate with the transition.