Gina Hinojosa won the Texas governor’s race.
Here’s what she promised ENOUGH’s Stephania Jimenez on property taxes, data centers, Medicaid, and school vouchers.
Hinojosa sat down with ENOUGH’s Stephania Jimenez to answer questions about her plans for Texas -- from property taxes and school vouchers to data centers, health care and border security.
Hinojosa made several commitments, including pushing for Medicaid expansion, supporting a repeal of the state’s private school voucher program and fighting to end tax breaks for large data centers.
Here’s what Hinojosa told ENOUGH — and what Texans should watch for now that she has won.
Hinojosa says she wants to send Texans a one-time $1,500 refund check.
Her plan would use money from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which she said has grown to approximately $27 billion.
She believes the state should keep about $10 billion in reserves and return the remaining $17 billion to Texans.
When Stephania asked how she could work with Republicans in the Legislature, Hinojosa pointed to the proposal as common ground.
“My plan is to send money back to the people, $1,500 to every Texas household as a refund,” she said.
She argued the money should be circulating in the economy instead of sitting in Austin.
“We should send it back to the people so it can work in the economy, especially at a time when Texans are struggling so much,” Hinojosa said.
NEXT: Hinojosa says she would direct lawmakers to pass a bill authorizing the checks. The proposal would require legislative approval.
SEE MORE: Hinojosa campaign promises
Stephania pressed Hinojosa about her previous vote on data center tax incentives.
In 2023, Hinojosa voted for House Bill 3104, which would have expanded tax exemptions for larger data center projects. The bill ultimately failed in the Senate.
Stephania asked why Hinojosa now wants a moratorium on new data centers and an end to tax breaks.
Hinojosa said her 2023 vote was about allowing union contractors to benefit from the tax incentives, arguing that Texas jobs should benefit if companies are receiving taxpayer subsidies.
“If anybody’s getting a tax break, it should go to subsidize Texas jobs,” she said.
But Hinojosa now wants a much broader change.
She told ENOUGH that data centers should pay sales taxes on the electricity they consume, arguing the current exemption costs Texas more than $1 billion a year.
“We are all paying for the data centers to be here,” she said.
She also raised concerns about water use, describing conversations with residents in Amarillo who fear a massive data center project could threaten their water supply.
“These hyperscale data centers are having hyperscale impacts on our communities, and we’re just left unprotected,” she said.
NEXT: Hinojosa wants an immediate moratorium on new data centers, an end to tax giveaways and new protections for communities. Those changes would require action from lawmakers.
Hinojosa has voted against school voucher proposals and opposed the 2025 legislation creating Texas’ education savings account program.
Stephania asked directly whether she would repeal the program if elected governor.
Hinojosa said she cannot do that by herself, but she would work to keep public money in public schools.
When Stephania asked whether she would support a bill repealing the private school portion of the program, Hinojosa said she would.
“My priority is public money and public schools,” she said.
She acknowledged, however, that getting a repeal bill through the Legislature could be difficult.
“If that’s the bill that were to make it to my desk, I don’t see that as a reality, frankly, because it would have to make it through both the House and the Senate,” she said.
NEXT: Hinojosa says she would support repeal legislation if it reached her desk. She would need lawmakers to pass it first.
Stephania asked Hinojosa a straightforward question: Would she push the Legislature to expand Medicaid for more low-income Texans?
“Yes,” Hinojosa said.
She said her priority would be ensuring every Texas child has access to health care.
“The way we do that is by expanding Medicaid, and that’s my position,” she said.
When Stephania asked how she would pay for it, Hinojosa said the federal government would cover most of the cost.
“The federal government mostly pays for that,” she said.
Her campaign also promises to strengthen rural hospitals and crack down on insurance companies that deny coverage in bad faith.
NEXT: Hinojosa says she would push for Medicaid expansion. That would require cooperation and legislative action.
Property taxes were another major point of discussion.
Stephania asked Hinojosa about claims from Abbott’s campaign that she voted 40 times to raise property taxes. She also asked whether local governments should have more freedom to raise property tax revenue when they say they need it.
Hinojosa disputed the attacks on her record and defended local control.
“Local communities, they elect their local leaders to make those decisions with communities, and that’s my position,” she said.
Her campaign platform goes further, promising to end corporate subsidies and use the savings to reduce property taxes, with the ultimate goal of eliminating residential property taxes.
NEXT: Hinojosa would need the Legislature to approve changes to corporate subsidies and the property tax system. She did not provide a specific timeline for eliminating residential property taxes.
Stephania asked whether Hinojosa would cut the billions Abbott has spent on border security or keep spending at the same level.
Hinojosa criticized Abbott’s approach, saying billions were spent prosecuting immigrants for trespassing and paying for their legal defense.
She pointed to a previous example in which she said she contacted the Biden administration about border crossings and an international bridge closure. She said federal officials negotiated an agreement with Mexico that helped reduce crossings.
But she did not promise to eliminate border security funding.
“Public safety shouldn’t be a political stunt,” she said. “I will spend the money it takes to keep our community safe, not for political theater.”
NEXT: Hinojosa says she would prioritize public safety and results over what she considers political theater. She did not provide a proposed border security budget or specific spending cuts.
At the end of the interview, Stephania asked Hinojosa what she would want Texans to hold her accountable for if she becomes governor.
“Helping to make their lives better,” she said.
She argued that elected officials should be working for the people who fund government.
“We pay for this government. It should be working for us,” Hinojosa said.
That’s the standard she says she would set for her administration.
Now, the question is whether she can turn those promises into action.
Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa is scheduled to be sworn in as the Governor of Texas in January.
