Gina Hinojosa smiles after giving a victory speech in San Antonio on Tuesday. Credit: Michael Karlis

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, will face off against Gov. Greg Abbott in November’s general election after winning more than 60% of the vote by press time in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

In a 15-minute speech during her victory party at San Antonio restaurant development The Creamery, Hinojosa railed against Abbott’s public education policies, his support of Trump’s immigration crackdown and what she called his blatant corruption.

“What I have learned from watching Greg Abbott at the State Capitol is that we work more, but we get less,” Hinojosa said. “We pay more, but we get less because we are all paying the Greg Abbott corruption tax.”

A former Austin ISD Board of Trustees president and five-term state representative, Hinojosa greatly expanded her political brand during the last year’s battle in the Texas Legislature over school vouchers. Indeed, her campaign is largely focused on funding Texas public schools, which rank near the bottom in per-pupil spending.

“Democrats are ready for change,” Hinojosa said. “Texans are a no te dejes kind of people. We know our worth. We know we can have strong neighborhood public schools when we scrap Greg Abbott’s corrupt vendor contracts and we use that money to make Texas teachers among the highest paid in the country.”

Among the vendors Hinojosa is referring to is New York-based tech firm Odyssey, which Texas tapped to manage its $1 billion taxpayer-funded voucher rollout. Odyssey has ties to pro-voucher Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, who donated more than $10 million to Abbott’s campaign.

To be sure, the biggest obstacle between Hinojosa and the governor’s mansion may be her fundraising deficit compared to Abbott. The state rep reported raising just $2.2 million during her primary campaign — peanuts compared to Abbott’s $100 million-plus war chest.

Even so, Hinojosa emphasized that some polls have her “neck-and-neck” with Abbott despite the funding gap. She blasted her opponent as one of the state’s least-popular politicians.

“What we have seen today all over this state is that Democrats are pumped and voting, and outperforming,” Hinojosa said.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...