Gina Hinojosa ‘no se va a dejar’
On Sept. 14, District 49 state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who is challenging republican incumbent Greg Abbott, visited downtown McAllen along with other democratic candidates to encourage attendees to “take Texas back.”
As Hinojosa walked onto the stage of The Gremlin in McAllen, the crowd chanted her name and an audience member screamed, “No te dejas!” to which the democratic hopeful responded, “No me voy a dejar.”
Hinojosa, who was raised in Brownsville, campaigned across Rio Grande Valley cities, including McAllen, Weslaco, Brownsville and Harlingen.
“I understood, as a little girl, this thing called the American Dream, and the American Dream was the promise that if you worked hard, you could afford to own your home, pay your bills and send your child to a good school,” Hinojosa said.
She said securing the American Dream comes from saving schools and putting money back in the pockets of Texans.
One of the many things Hinojosa promised during her speech was to release $1,500 back to Texans from the state’s $27 billion rainy day fund.
“You did your part; Texas did its part,” Hinojosa told the audience. “Greg Abbott broke that deal. It comes out of the rainy day fund. We never had so much money there. Greg Abbott’s hoarding it.”
Hinojosa said she wants to take the rainy day fund down to $10 billion.
Tommy Kubitschek, the communications director for Hinojosa’s campaign, said the American Dream seems to feel out of reach for many.
“The promise of Texas has become out of reach for so many young people, and I think it’s hard to imagine a Texas where the people are back in power, but that’s exactly what Gina is fighting for,” Kubitschek said.
Elizabeth Rodriguez, director for farm worker advocacy with the National Farm Worker Ministry and democratic precinct chair for Precinct 88 in Alton, said she was there to support Hinojosa and bring voters to connect with her.
“Greg Abbott has had his fair share of time. The policies that he has advanced have only supported and helped advance the richer communities,” Rodriguez said. “We need a better leader, someone who represents the actual hardworking-class people.”
Karyme Segura, a biology freshman and student intern with Powered by People. Powered by People is an organization composed of thousands of volunteers who help register voters.
Segura attended the rally to help register people to vote and verify their information.
“People who said they previously registered said that somehow they don’t show up on the platform. So, we’re just trying to make change, bring awareness, especially with students,” Segura said. “We’re the next generation for Texas, so it’s important to establish that from an early age.”
Hinojosa ended her speech by telling the audience that nobody gives you power, you have to take it back.
The last day to register to vote is Oct. 5.
Early voting starts on Oct. 19 and ends Oct. 30 with election day on Nov. 3.
To check voter registration status, visit votetexas.gov.
