‘Now the fun part starts’: Gina Hinojosa begins transition into governorship

The transition to a Democratic administration is underway in Texas as Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa unveils her transition team.AUSTIN, Texas (CN) — Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa made her first appearance Thursday after her stunning electoral victory over Greg Abbott.At the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, Hinojosa unveiled the leaders of her transition team and sought to set the tone for what Texans can expect from her administration, telling reporters, “Now the fun part starts.”“We will have a bipartisan transition, and we will have a bipartisan administration and government in Texas,” Hinojosa said.Joe Madden, a public affairs consultant from Houston, is heading up her transition team and will serve as its executive director. The team also includes Ryan Pollock, head of the Texas Building Trades Council and a labor union leader, as well as Ernest Bailes, who introduced himself as a conservative Republican honored to work with the governor-elect.“I believe in Gina, and I have faith that we will be able to do good things for the state of Texas,” Bailes said. “We will put partisanship aside. We will work together for what is best for the kids of the state of Texas.”Hinojosa highlighted a few of her priorities during her brief remarks, among them addressing affordability, ending the culture of divisive politics and supporting public education. She also said the outgoing Abbott administration has been gracious by fully committing to a smooth transition of power.When Hinojosa assumes office on Jan. 19, 2027, she will wield power that has been out of reach of Democrats for a generation. Her priorities are expected to find favor in the Democrat-controlled Texas House of Representatives and with Texas Senate leader Lieutenant Governor-elect Vikki Goodwin. However, Republicans still hold a majority in the upper chamber, creating a recipe for potential gridlock.While House Republicans will begin 2027 in the unfamiliar position of the minority party, one member is calling for a quick limit on the governor’s authority while they still control the legislature. Brian Harrison, a representative from Midlothian, has created an online petition calling on Abbott to convene a special session of the Legislature to curtail emergency powers given to the executive branch.“Unchecked executive emergency powers, which, if not revoked, guarantee that Gina Hinojosa assumes not just the powers our state constitution bestows upon a governor, but will, in effect, inherit nearly all the powers of a dictator,” Harrison wrote in a letter to Abbott penned the day after the election.Hinojosa was asked about Harrison’s blunder during Thursday’s conference, to which she responded: “The people of Texas have spoken.”“I think it’s important that as elected leaders we respect what the people of Texas have said,” Hinojosa explained. “They want change, and I would hope that elected leaders from both parties don’t get in the way of the progress we can make together to deliver for working people.”As of Thursday afternoon, Hinojosa leads Abbott by seven points, a bruising defeat for the longtime governor who was seeking a fourth term in office.Political pundits, lawmakers and Texans are still in a state of reeling after Tuesday’s historic election. The Lone Star State, previously seen as the Republicans’ crown jewel, flipped entirely, with all statewide offices breaking for Democrats. In addition, Democrat state lawmaker James Talarico bested Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to become the state’s first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate since 1988.In a poignant post on X, Texas Senator Ted Cruz shared his thoughts on the state’s dramatic political change.“Texas is blue,” Cruz wrote. “That is a hard sentence to utter. But Texas, today at least, is blue. As we sit here today, I am the only statewide elected Republican who remains in Texas. That’s not something I ever thought I would say.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads