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Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa announced his resignation Friday on the heels of another election cycle in which his party suffered blowout losses atop the ticket and vastly underperformed expectations.
In a statement acknowledging Democrats’ “devastating defeats up and down the ballot,” Hinojosa announced he would step down in March when the party’s governing executive committee is scheduled to meet.
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Texas Democrats underperformed yet again. Now what?
Tuesday was another electoral blowout in which Democrats underperformed expectations, weakening their case that Texas is a battleground state worthy of investment and attention from the national party.
“In the days and weeks to come, it is imperative that our Democratic leaders across the country reevaluate what is best for our party and embrace the next generation of leaders to take us through the next four years of Trump and win back seats up and down the ballot,” Hinojosa said, calling on Democratic leaders “at all levels to join me in lifting up the next generation in order to unite our party.”
In the months leading up to Tuesday’s election, Hinojosa and other party leaders promoted Texas as a competitive state where Democratic candidates had a real shot of winning a statewide race for the first time since 1994. Instead, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump carried the state by nearly 14 percentage points and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz defeated his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, by nearly 9 points. Democrats also lost three seats in the Texas Legislature and nearly every contested state appellate court race, and saw Republicans win 10 countywide judicial races in Harris County — reversing several years of Democratic dominance in Texas’ largest county.
Republicans also set a high-water mark among Latino voters, with Trump capturing 55% of the key voting bloc statewide, according to exit polls. He carried all four counties in the traditionally deep-blue Rio Grande Valley, including Cameron County, where Hinojosa previously served as county judge.
In an interview with The Texas Newsroom this week, Hinojosa said Democrats’ poor performance was in part a result of the way they handled the issue of transgender rights — comments that stirred backlash from party members and LGBTQ advocates.
“You have a choice as a party,” Hinojosa said. “You could, for example, you can support transgender rights up and down all the categories where the issue comes up, or you can understand that there’s certain things that we just go too far on, that a big bulk of our population does not support.”
Hinojosa later apologized for the comments, saying he recognized “the pain and frustration” my words have caused.
Hinojosa’s departure comes in the middle of a four-year term that began when he was reelected at the 2022 Texas Democratic Convention. His successor will be selected by the party’s governing executive committee and will serve out the remainder of Hinojosa’s term, according to the state party rules.
Shay Wyrick-Cathey, the party vice chair, announced Friday she would run to succeed Hinojosa. In a statement, Wyrick-Cathey said she and Hinojosa “have not agreed on every issue, but he never made that a prerequisite for the two of us working together.”
Also in the mix is Kim Olson, Hinojosa’s top challenger in 2022 and a former statewide and congressional candidate. She was being encouraged to run by some donors and party activists after Hinojosa’s announcement, according to a Democratic source familiar with the conversations.
The contentious 2022 chair election served as a referendum on Hinojosa’s tenure since he took over leadership of the state party in 2012. He won another term by arguing that he had grown the party immensely and helped bring Democrats within striking distance of statewide office in 2018, putting them in position to soon break through. But the race was made competitive as Hinojosa’s challengers promised to improve the party’s infrastructure while tapping into frustrations about Democrats’ disappointing 2020 election performance — which has since been followed by decisive losses in 2022 and 2024.
Hinojosa has drawn criticism especially for offering overly rosy projections. At the Democratic National Convention in August, Hinojosa referred to Texas as “the nation’s biggest battleground state” as he announced Texas would deliver its delegates for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Voting FAQ: 2024 Elections
When is the next election? What dates do I need to know?
Election Day for the general election is November 5, and early voting will run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1. The deadline to register to vote and/or change your voter registration address is Oct. 7. Applications to vote by mail must be received by your county of residence – not postmarked – by Oct. 25.
What’s on the ballot for the general election?
In addition to the president, eligible Texans have the opportunity to cast their ballots for many Texas officials running for office at the federal, state and local levels.
This includes representatives in the U.S. and Texas houses and the following elected offices:
-1 U.S Senator (Ted Cruz)
– 1 of 3 Railroad Commissioners
– 15 State Senators
– 7 State Board of Education members
– 3 members of the Texas Supreme Court
– 3 members of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
– 5 Chief Justices and various justices for Texas Courts of Appeals
Lower-level judges and local county offices will also appear on the ballot:
– Various district judges, including on criminal and family courts
– County Courts at Law
– Justices of the Peace
– District Attorneys
– County Attorneys
– Sheriffs
– Constables
– Tax Assessor-Collectors
How do I make sure I’m registered to vote?
You can check to see if you’re registered and verify your information through the Texas Secretary of State’s website. You’ll need one of the following three combinations to log in: Your Texas driver’s license number and date of birth. Your first and last names, date of birth and county you reside in. Your date of birth and Voter Unique Identifier, which appears on your voter registration certificate.
What if I missed the voter registration deadline?
You must be registered to vote in a Texas county by Oct. 7 to vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election. You can still register for other elections.
If you’re registered but didn’t update your address by the deadline, you may still be able to vote at your previous voting location or on a limited ballot. (Voters are typically assigned precincts based on where they live. In most major counties, voters can vote anywhere on Election Day, but some counties require you vote within your precinct. If that is the case, you may have to return to your previous precinct. See which counties allow countywide Election Day voting here. You can usually find your precinct listed on your voter registration certificate or on when checking your registration online.)
If you moved from one county to another, you may be able to vote on a ballot limited to the elections you would qualify to vote in at both locations, such as statewide races. However, limited ballots are only available during early voting. Find your county election official here and contact them to ask about or request a limited ballot.
What can I do if I have questions about voting?
You can contact your county elections official or call the Texas Secretary of State’s helpline at 1-800-252-VOTE (8683). A coalition of voting rights groups is also helping voters navigate election concerns through the 866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683) voter-protection helpline. The coalition also has hotlines available for voters who speaker other languages or have accessibility needs.
For help in Spanish, call 888-VE-Y-VOTA or 888-839-8682.
For help in Asian languages, call 888-API-VOTE or 888-274-8683.
For help in Arabic, call 888-YALLA-US or 888-925-5287.
For help in American Sign Language through a video, call 301-818-VOTE or 301-818-8683.
For help from Disability Rights Texas, call 888-796-VOTE or 888-796-8683.
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