Nothing says “I won” like handing a top job to someone from the other team. Gina Hinojosa just beat Greg Abbott, and her first big move as Texas governor-elect was to give a top transition job to a conservative Republican from rural East Texas.
At her first news conference on Thursday, Hinojosa promised a bipartisan administration. She also named the team that will help her take over in January.
I’ll say it: that is not the opening move most people expected from the first Democrat to win the governor’s office in 30 years.
Gina Hinojosa’s bipartisan transition team
The headline name is Ernest Bailes, a former Republican state representative. He served in the Texas House from 2017 to 2025. He is one of four transition leaders, according to KUT. The others are a construction union leader, a former Harris County government official and a former Austin school board trustee.
“I believe in Gina, and I have faith that we will be able to do good things for the state of Texas,” Bailes said, as reported by KLTV. Joe Madden will run the transition as executive director. Tamala Barksdale, a brand strategist and former Austin school trustee, will serve as senior adviser.
Hinojosa was blunt about the goal. “We will have a bipartisan transition, and we will have a bipartisan administration and government in Texas,” she said, according to the Texas Tribune. She also told reporters she would not be “the governor for just Democrats” but “for all the people of Texas.”
No cabinet picks were announced. More transition leaders are coming “in the coming weeks.”
What Gina Hinojosa wants to do for Texas households
Here’s the thing: the promises that matter most to your wallet and your kids are still on the table. She has pledged a $1,500 refund to every Texas household from state savings. She also wants to end public school takeovers. And she plans to roll back the school voucher program and expand Medicaid, KPRC reports.
She is pitching the refund as common ground with Republicans. “My plan is to send money back to the people, $1,500 to every Texas household as a refund,” she said before the election. Rolling back vouchers will be a much harder sell. Abbott championed the program, and Hinojosa voted against it.
She also has a personnel move in mind. Hinojosa says she will fire Education Commissioner Mike Morath on her first day in office. She has already started interviewing possible replacements.
Why the Texas Senate is the real hurdle for Hinojosa
A governor can sign or veto bills, recommend a budget and make appointments across state government, including the education commissioner. A governor cannot pass a law alone.
That is the catch. Democrats swept statewide Republicans out of office and took the Texas House, which gives her more leverage than anyone predicted. (Texas also ended a long statewide Democratic drought in the same election.) But reports say the Senate is a major obstacle for parts of her agenda. I could not confirm its exact partisan makeup. The vouchers and Medicaid fights will likely run through it.
Someone also asked Hinojosa about talk of Republicans trying to trim the governor’s powers before she takes office. Her answer was short: “The people of Texas have spoken.” No specific bill or sponsor has surfaced, so that remains talk for now.
How Gina Hinojosa beat Abbott
The numbers were lopsided. With 97.5% of precincts reporting, Hinojosa had 53% to Abbott’s 46%, according to KPRC’s results page. Those totals are not final. The AP projected her win on election night, and Abbott called to concede. Her victory ends a Republican hold on the governor’s office that began in January 1995, per CBS News Texas. Abbott still lost anyway.
In August, a UT-Austin poll had Abbott up 45% to 40%. So much for that.
She will be the state’s first Latina governor. She will also be the first from the Rio Grande Valley and only the third woman to hold the office. Trump, meanwhile, said Abbott lost because he became a “RINO.”
What comes next for Texas’s next governor
Watch three things before the January inauguration. First, who fills out the transition team. Second, who she picks to replace Morath. Third, whether any Republican lawmakers decide to work with her.
Even one defection in the Senate would change the math on her agenda. A fight over who becomes House speaker is also already brewing. For a broader look at the stakes, see how her win could reshape data center power in Texas.
Promising a bipartisan government is the easy part. The real test is whether the first Republican she hired is the last one who says yes.
