Regina Inez Hinojosa, known professionally as Gina Hinojosa, was born in McAllen, Texas, and is an American lawyer and politician of Mexican descent. She grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and has built a career centered on civil rights, labor advocacy, public education, and statewide elected office in Texas.
As of November 2026, she serves as a member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 49 and stands as the governor-elect of Texas after defeating incumbent Greg Abbott in the 2026 general election. Her path reflects deep roots in South Texas public schools, legal work on behalf of workers and families, local school board service, and legislative efforts focused on education funding and related policy issues.
Gina Hinojosa Early Life
Gina Hinojosa was born on December 8, 1973, in McAllen, Texas. She is the daughter of Gilberto Hinojosa, a longtime legal aid lawyer who later served as Cameron County judge and as chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, and Crisanta Guerra Lozano, also a legal aid attorney. Her family background emphasized social justice and community advocacy from an early age. She is of Mexican descent and spent her childhood primarily in Brownsville, with summers at her grandparents’ home in Mission. These experiences in the Rio Grande Valley shaped her connection to the region and its public institutions.
She attended Brownsville public schools and graduated from Homer Hanna High School in 1992. After high school she enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied as a Plan II Honors and Government major. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996. She later attended George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., receiving her Juris Doctor in 1999. She spent one semester at the University of Texas School of Law, where she met her future husband, before transferring to complete her legal education. With the exception of her law school years, she has lived in Austin since arriving for college.
Gina Hinojosa Career
Legal Advocacy and Union Work
After law school Hinojosa began practicing as a civil rights and labor lawyer. Her first legal position was with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in its Office of Legal Counsel in Washington, D.C. There she gained experience in organized labor and workers’ rights. She later joined the Austin firm of Kator, Parks and Weiser, where she represented employees in cases involving discrimination based on race, gender, age, and disability.
In 2005 she was part of the legal team that pursued a case against then U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay related to campaign finance matters. She also worked part time with Catholic Charities USA in its Office of Immigrant Concerns, Texas Rural Legal Aid, and the Equal Justice Center, assisting with issues such as unpaid wages for low wage workers. She has remained a dues paying member of the Communications Workers of America and has served on the board of the Equal Justice Center. Throughout this period she volunteered with Austin Interfaith on efforts related to living wages for employees of companies receiving local economic incentives.
Austin Independent School District Service
In 2012 Hinojosa entered elected office for the first time. When her son’s elementary school, Pease Elementary, faced potential closure due to budget pressures, she ran for a seat on the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees. She won election and worked to keep the school and other neighborhood campuses open. She served on the board for four years. In January 2015 her colleagues selected her as board president. During her leadership the district increased teacher pay, balanced its budget, and achieved a milestone in which every high school met state accountability standards while no schools closed.
Texas House of Representatives
In 2016 Hinojosa ran for the Texas House of Representatives in District 49, which covers central Austin including areas near the University of Texas and Sunset Valley. She won a competitive seven way Democratic primary outright without a runoff and prevailed in the general election. She assumed office on January 10, 2017, succeeding Elliott Naishtat, and has represented the district since that time through multiple terms.
In the legislature she has focused on public education funding, property tax issues, health care access, and corporate reform. In 2019 she helped lead efforts that resulted in more than 11 billion dollars in additional investment for Texas public schools through House Bill 3. She authored or sponsored measures including one establishing a system for disaster assistance applications and another creating public benefit corporations in Texas. She sponsored legislation that directed nearly one billion dollars in federal funds toward indigent health care in Travis County. She has also advocated for reduced standardized testing and teacher pay increases.
Hinojosa has been a consistent voice against school voucher proposals, arguing they divert resources from neighborhood public schools. In 2023 she authored the Fully Fund Our Future Act, which sought a substantial investment in public education including teacher and staff raises, higher per student funding, and additional special education resources. That measure did not advance amid broader debates over education policy. She participated in Democratic quorum breaks, including one in 2021 related to voting legislation and another in 2025 concerning congressional maps.
She has served on committees including Public Education, Land and Resource Management, Business and Industry, Criminal Jurisprudence, Human Services, and others across sessions. Her legislative record also includes proposals related to trafficking victim services, restrictions on certain investment practices in housing, and opposition to specific border security funding approaches she viewed as misdirected.
2026 Gubernatorial Campaign
On October 15, 2025, Hinojosa announced her candidacy for governor of Texas. She won the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026, with approximately 59.9 percent of the vote. In the general election on November 3, 2026, she defeated three term Republican incumbent Greg Abbott. Abbott conceded the race. Hinojosa will assume office on January 19, 2027, becoming the first Latina and the first Democrat elected governor of Texas since Ann Richards in the early 1990s. Her campaign emphasized public school investment, affordability measures, limits on certain data center expansions and related costs, and opposition to the school voucher program enacted in 2025. She received endorsements from organizations including the Texas AFL CIO, the Texas State Teachers Association, EMILY’s List, and the Houston Chronicle editorial board.
Gina Hinojosa Personal Life
Gina Hinojosa is married to John Donisi, an Austin attorney who previously served as a special assistant to Governor Ann Richards. The couple met while she was attending the University of Texas School of Law for one semester. They have two sons, Matteo and Pablo. The family lives in Austin with their dog. Hinojosa has spoken publicly about a personal experience more than twenty years ago involving a pregnancy diagnosis of a severe fetal anomaly, framing it in the context of personal decision making. She has maintained a relatively private family life while connecting her role as a parent to her advocacy for neighborhood public schools. Her parents’ careers in legal aid and her father’s later political roles provided an early environment of civic engagement. She has cited lessons from her grandmother in the Rio Grande Valley, including the phrase “No te dejes,” meaning do not let yourself be taken advantage of.
Gina Hinojosa Awards
Hinojosa has received several recognitions for her legislative and advocacy work. These include the Mexican American Legislative Caucus Freshman of the Year award, Capitol Inside Freshman Floor Fighter designation, Texas Women’s Healthcare Coalition 2017 Legislative Champion recognition, and the Texas Fair Defense Project Defender of Justice honor. She has also been noted for her service on the Equal Justice Center board and for leadership roles within the Austin ISD board.
Gina Hinojosa Political Focus Areas
Throughout her public career Hinojosa has prioritized public education funding and opposition to policies she views as diverting resources from neighborhood schools. She has supported increased teacher compensation, reduced reliance on high stakes testing, and resistance to state takeovers of local districts. On economic issues she has pushed for measures addressing cost of living, including proposals related to electricity rates and one time household refunds from state reserves, along with restrictions on certain large scale investment firm purchases of single family homes. She has advocated for greater oversight of data centers regarding energy and water use and tax treatment. In health care she has worked to secure federal funds for indigent care and has expressed support for broader access measures. On immigration she has drawn from her earlier work with immigrant concerns while calling for secure borders alongside pathways for long term residents and criticizing certain federal enforcement practices. She has also filed legislation aimed at limiting the use of the gay panic defense in criminal cases.
Conclusion
Gina Hinojosa’s trajectory from the Rio Grande Valley through legal advocacy, local school board leadership, and the Texas House of Representatives has culminated in her election as governor elect of Texas. Her career demonstrates a consistent emphasis on public schools, workers’ rights, and policies aimed at ordinary Texas families. As she prepares to take office in January 2027, her background as a product of Brownsville public schools, a civil rights and labor attorney, and a multi term legislator positions her to address the state’s ongoing debates over education, affordability, and governance. Her story remains one of sustained engagement with the institutions and communities that shaped her.
FAQs
Who is Gina Hinojosa?
Gina Hinojosa is an American lawyer and politician who has served in the Texas House of Representatives representing District 49 since 2017 and was elected governor of Texas in the November 2026 election.
Where was Gina Hinojosa born?
She was born in McAllen, Texas, and grew up primarily in Brownsville in the Rio Grande Valley.
What is Gina Hinojosa’s educational background?
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Plan II Honors and Government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996 and a Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School in 1999.
Is Gina Hinojosa married?
Yes. She is married to attorney John Donisi. They have two sons, Matteo and Pablo, and live in Austin.
What offices has Gina Hinojosa held?
She served on the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees from 2012 to 2016, including a term as board president, and has represented Texas House District 49 since 2017. She is the governor elect of Texas as of the 2026 election.
What are some of Gina Hinojosa’s key legislative efforts?
She contributed to the 2019 school funding package that directed more than 11 billion dollars to public education, authored legislation creating public benefit corporations, secured federal funds for indigent health care in Travis County, and consistently opposed school voucher proposals while advocating for increased public school investment.