Gina Hinojosa has taken her fight with Gov. Greg Abbott from the Capitol to Corpus Christi’s skyline, rolling out three downtown billboards that accuse the governor of funneling state contracts to political donors and raising the temperature in the governor’s race. Abbott, for his part, is leaning hard on election security, putting public pressure on Democrats he says resisted tougher voting rules, all as party delegates and activists pour into the city for the state Democratic convention.
Hinojosa's Billboard Blitz
According to a campaign press release, the Hinojosa team put up the three billboards on June 23, branding Abbott’s record a “corruption tax” and alleging he has steered “a billion dollars” in no-bid contracts to allies who donate to his campaigns. The campaign says the billboards will stay up through June 28 and that paid advertising built around the same theme will continue through Election Day. Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor
Abbott's Election Security Counterattack
Abbott has been pushing a competing storyline focused on ballot security. As reported by the El Paso Times, he publicly posted the names of 79 Democratic state lawmakers who voted against Senate Bill 1 and questioned how secure Texas elections really are. Commenters responding to the posts pointed to commonly cited estimates that illegal voting occurs at well under 1 percent, while Abbott framed his stance as a straightforward effort to protect Texans’ ballots.
What SB1 Actually Does
Senate Bill 1, the 2021 election law Abbott signed, tightened identification requirements for mail-in ballots, outlawed certain drive-thru voting setups and overnight voting hours, and increased penalties for some election-related offenses. The governor’s office pitched SB1 as legislation to “uphold the integrity of elections,” even as multiple provisions have since been dragged into federal and state court. Office of the Texas Governor
“This election is about one fight: do the billionaires get to run our state, or do the people of Texas?” Hinojosa said in the same campaign release, arguing Abbott’s agenda has leaned toward wealthy donors instead of public schools and family budgets. Her campaign says that message will stay at the center of both its paid advertising and its on-the-ground campaigning through November. Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor
Convention Timing And Coastal Stakes
The billboard rollout coincides with the Texas Democratic Party’s state convention in Corpus Christi, a gathering that organizers say is designed to unify the party’s slate and spotlight local concerns heading into November. The Texas Tribune has also noted the convention’s broader national profile, and Hoodline previously covered Hinojosa’s swing through the city to highlight local issues. Hinojosa Sounds Corpus Christi
Legal And Political Stakes
Key pieces of SB1 triggered a 2021 lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice, which argues that some sections violate the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, creating a legal backdrop that still shapes how both parties talk about the law. ABC13 Democrats describe Abbott’s security-focused messaging as a political wedge issue, while Republicans insist the stricter rules are needed to deter voter fraud.
What to watch next is whether Hinojosa’s “corruption tax” billboards catch fire with convention-goers and coastal voters, and whether Abbott’s election-security push keeps Democrats on defense over the 2021 law. The general election is set for Nov. 3, 2026, with Oct. 5 as the last day to register and early voting scheduled for Oct. 19 to 30, according to the University of Houston voter guide and state election information. UH Votes
