In her bid to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott, Democrat Gina Hinojosa is hoping to significantly expand the tent — this time, to include a Trump supporter who protested at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In a new ad, which Hinojosa announced Thursday on stage at the Texas Tribune Festival, Lynn Davenport, a self-described MAGA conservative who believed the 2020 election was stolen, said she will break with her party and vote for Hinojosa.

“She voted for President Trump, and she rides hard for me,” Hinojosa said at the festival, citing her record opposing school vouchers, standing up against data centers and talking about affordability issues.

Hinojosa is running closer to Abbott than anyone predicted, with some pollsters projecting the race as a “toss up” despite the governor’s deep pockets and history of double-digit wins.

With mounting rural anger over data centers, transmission lines and the cost of living, Hinojosa is trying to appeal to moderate Republicans and independents — even if it requires separating herself from the Democratic Party brand.

“I’m not asking voters to trust Democrats,” she said on stage. “It’s hard enough to get people to trust me.”

The Tribune invited Abbott to participate in the festival, but he did not respond.

Speaking to a packed crowd that cheered her arrival, Hinojosa rejected the label “progressive,” saying it was too often associated with culture war issues. Instead, she branded herself as a populist, focused more on economic issues that impact Texans’ pocketbooks.

This reflects a messaging shift after a decade as one of the most left-leaning members of the state House and co-chair of the Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus, although Hinojosa said on stage that her values had not changed.

Eduardo Leal, Abbott’s press secretary, said in a statement that Hinojosa can’t “erase her radical, socialist record of high taxes, supporting boys playing in girls’ sports, and open borders.” 

Asked about what conservative victories she would try to undo if she was elected governor, Hinojosa demurred, saying it would be difficult without Democratic majorities in the Texas Legislature — which she said there was no chance of, despite talk of a blue wave this cycle.

“There’s just not,” she said. “I live in reality.”

Other Democrats are projecting more confidence, as they see their best chance in decades at breaking the Republican political monopoly, amid low approval ratings for President Donald Trump and frustrations over affordability. In the Senate race at the top of the ticket, polls show Democrat James Talarico running ahead Attorney General Ken Paxton, with record-setting money flowing in on both sides.

On stage, Hinojosa said her campaign will announce they had raised $20 million since the start of the year, although she acknowledged they would need much more to take on Abbott. As of the end of June, Abbott had about $67 million on hand, compared to Hinojosa’s $3 million.  

Even as Hinojosa tries to appeal to the “Gina-curious” — voters who have never previously considered voting for a Democrat — some in her core base raised concerns that she may be forsaking their issues.

During the audience question portion of Thursday’s event, a University of Texas graduate raised the racist social media posts made by Republican Railroad Commission nominee Bo French about South Asian students celebrating the university’s win over Ohio State.

“I know you said you have no interest in culture wars, but if your constituents are being drawn into them without being asked … how are you going to balance staying out of it with showing support when needed?”

Hinojosa responded by calling on her record in the House of standing up when Republican leadership “punched down” on certain communities.

“Nobody has fought to defend Texans stronger than I have, and that will continue to be the way I operate,” she said.