In the upcoming 2026 elections, Democrats have hopes of winning big in Texas. While the Democratic candidate for Senate, James Talarico, has gotten most of the attention, another Democrat, Gina Hinojosa, has looked surprisingly competitive against the most powerful politician in the state: Gov. Greg Abbott, the Republican running for an unprecedented fourth term. Hinojosa is a Texas state legislator who represents parts of liberal Austin. Her political rise began on her local school board, where she was inspired to run for the State Legislature because of cuts to public school funding under Abbott. That became one of her signature issues, which she has carried over into her run for governor. When she began her campaign, she was seen as the longest of long shots: a Latina with little statewide name recognition and not a lot of financial support. Today, the most recent New York Times/Siena University poll shows her narrowly ahead of Abbott, and national Democrats are finally taking notice, directing money toward the race in these last few crucial weeks. Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked Hinojosa whether that will be enough to overcome an extremely well-funded Abbott, who declined an interview request. They also talked about why she is focusing on affordability, education and data centers, and how she is trying to pull in disaffected rural MAGA voters. Can she win? And what will it say about Texas if she does? Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/24/magazine/gina-hinojosa-interview.html “The Interview” features conversations with the world’s most fascinating people. Each week, co-hosts David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro talk to compelling, influential figures in culture, politics, business, sports and beyond — illuminating who they are, why they do what they do and how they impact the rest of us. Subscribe to “The Interview”: https://www.youtube.com/@theinterviewpodcast Discover the journalism Times subscribers get daily, free for your first month in The New York Times app. Download here: https://nytimes.onelink.me/Xpht/a6wzplra #ginahinojosa #hinojosa #theinterview