El Paso will host Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa on October 28, the second-to-last stop on a 17-stop statewide tour designed to drive turnout before Texas's early voting period closes. The visit comes as Hinojosa tries to unseat Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in a race that recent polling shows remains tight heading into the final stretch before Election Day on November 3.
Hinojosa's campaign has not released the exact location or times for the El Paso stop, according to KVIA, though the appearance is confirmed as part of a broader get-out-the-vote swing the campaign calls the “One Fight” tour. Interestingly, KVIA's own report referred to the tour as the “One Flight” tour, while official statements from Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor use the “One Fight” name. Per the campaign's release, the tour launched in Houston on October 18 and will wind through San Antonio, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, Dallas, Austin, the Rio Grande Valley, Corpus Christi and Fort Worth before reaching El Paso on October 28 and wrapping up in Collin County the following day.
Early Voting Window Frames the Timing
The El Paso stop lands squarely inside Texas's early voting period, which runs from Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 30, ahead of the November 3 general election. The October 28 visit comes during the final stretch before Election Day.
The campaign has also noted that it logged more than 75,000 miles of statewide travel before launching this GOTV swing, underscoring the scale of the ground game Hinojosa's team is attempting in the race's final weeks, according to the same campaign release.
A Tight Race Entering the Final Stretch
A Marist poll found Abbott holding a narrow 49% to 45% lead over Hinojosa among likely voters, while registered voters were separated by one point. The numbers reflect a close race in that poll.
Hinojosa captured the Democratic nomination on March 3 with 59% of the primary vote over a field that included former U.S. Representative Chris Bell, per Ballotpedia. Abbott won his own primary the same day with 82% of the Republican vote. The November election will decide whether Abbott retains the governorship.
El Paso's Role in a Hispanic Turnout Strategy
El Paso is among the final stops on the tour schedule. A Cook Political Report/TelevisaUnivision survey published in September found Texas Hispanic likely voters favoring Hinojosa over Abbott by 60% to 33%, a shift Hoodline previously reported on as a potential reversal from 2024, when Donald Trump won Texas Hispanic voters by 10 points.
Hinojosa previously visited El Paso, where she focused on utility and environmental concerns, criticizing unregulated data center expansion and pointing to Meta's $14 billion campus project, which permits draws of up to 2.5 million gallons of potable water daily. That visit, detailed in an earlier Hoodline report on El Paso's data center flashpoint, tied local water concerns directly to Hinojosa's broader campaign themes.
Biography and Policy Platform
Hinojosa, first elected to represent Austin's District 49 in the Texas House in 2016, previously served as president of the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees and worked as a civil rights and union attorney, according to the Texas House of Representatives. Her legal work included civil-rights and union law.
Her gubernatorial platform centers on expanding public school funding, reducing household costs, and regulating corporate utility impacts. The Houston Chronicle Editorial Board endorsed her this October.
