Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa to hold first post-election news conference in Austin

AUSTIN - Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa will address reporters Thursday afternoon in Austin for her first news conference since securing a decisive election victory.

Gina Hinojosa news conference

What we know:

The briefing, scheduled for 2 p.m. CT, marks Hinojosa's first public availability following initial conversations with outgoing Governor Greg Abbott to initiate the executive transition.

Hinojosa is expected to lay out her administration's key priorities, executive agenda, and legislative goals ahead of the upcoming legislative session.

The news conference will be in Austin following her historic victory, which concluded a high-stakes campaign for the state's top executive office.

Governor-elect Hinojosa declares victory Tuesday night

What they're saying:

Declaring that "Texas belongs to the people of Texas," Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa formally claimed victory in the 2026 Texas gubernatorial race Tuesday night, framing her historic win as a decisive mandate against political corruption, corporate influence, and single-party dominance in the state.

Addressing a crowd of supporters in Austin, Hinojosa, a former school board member and state representative, recounted her journey from a childhood in the Rio Grande Valley to becoming the first governor elected from Brownsville.

"Everything is bigger in Texas — and so is this win," Hinojosa said. "Texas, we have shocked the world tonight. With a Texas chip on our shoulder, we showed that anything is possible."

Hinojosa confirmed she spoke with outgoing Governor Greg Abbott, who called to offer his congratulations and assist with the executive transition. She extended her thanks to Abbott and his family for their years of public service before launching into a sharp critique of the state's political status quo.

Tracing her political roots back to her initial run for school board to protect her own children's education, Hinojosa made public education the central pillar of her victory speech. She pledged sweeping administrative shifts on her first day in office, promising to fire Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath and dismantle the state's school voucher program.

"The days of treating our public schools like they’re for sale are over," Hinojosa declared. "It is a victory for teachers who will be paid what they are worth, and we will work tirelessly to repair the damage of the Texas vouchers scam."

Throughout her address, Hinojosa rejected national narratives framing her win solely through a partisan lens, pitching her campaign as a populist coalition of working families, teachers, oilfield workers, and small-business owners across urban and rural divides.

"The same national pundits and political class who ignored and then misunderstood this campaign will declare this a victory for Democrats," she said. "They continue to misunderstand. This victory is so much bigger — it belongs to Texas."

Hinojosa committed to ending no-bid state contracts, restoring ethics standards, and maintaining accountability within her own party, warning that "corruption does not become right when our side does it."

In her closing remarks, Hinojosa evoked the advice of her grandmother—"No te dejes," or "know your worth and fight for it"—thanking her family, campaign staff led by manager Amy Friedman, and political ally U.S. Senator-elect James Talarico.

What's next:

Transition operations are set to begin immediately ahead of Hinojosa's inauguration in January.

Texas2026 ElectionsElectionTexas Politics