Texas Democratic Party chair to resign after Republican sweep in Texas

After Republicans won races statewide, especially in South Texas, the chair of the Texas Democratic Party, Gilberto Hinojosa, said he plans to resign next year after serving 12 years in the role.

Hinojosa and Texas Democrats have criticized Republican policies including border security measures implemented by Gov. Greg Abbott. After Nov. 5, Hispanic voters in South Texas made history by flipping nearly all border counties red, voting for President-elect Donald Trump by large margins. They also voted for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Republicans who were elected for the first time after leaving the Democratic Party, The Center Square reported.

Some news outlets, pundits and pollsters at one point claimed Cruz’s Senate race was so close that he might lose. He won by nearly nine points, by larger margins than he did in 2018.

Similarly, some claimed Trump was only ahead by roughly five points with some outlets claiming Texas “leaned right.” Trump won Texas by nearly 14 points.

In an interview with KUT News, Hinojosa gave his perspective on the election, saying, “Why do you think that Trump did so well with Hispanics? Because Hispanics live on the border. We're talking about thousands of people crossing into the United States, and the government [Biden administration] is perceived not to be able to do anything to solve it.”

He also said the Democratic transgender agenda hurt Democrats at the polls. “We can say, ‘OK, we respect people's right to say we don't want my taxpayer money to be used for that, and at the same time support transgender rights,” he told KUT News. "I'm not saying that we need to take that position right now. But when those votes happen, we need to recognize that there are going to be long-term political consequences when we do that."

“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."

Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez, a Democrat, also told The Center Square that his constituents, mostly Democratic Hispanics, don’t support the transgender agenda and “the Democratic Party doesn’t represent us.”

U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who was the first Republican elected to her congressional district in Texas, also made a similar argument. Of the Democratic Party, she said, "They have become woke, pushing down their cultural radicalism,” which she has argued “is an insult to us, quite frankly, and just one of the many reasons why the people who were once with the Democrat Party are now walking away."

In the last election, a poll found that more Hispanic Texans say the Democratic Party didn’t represent their values. Two years later, they shifted even farther right.

The top issue among Hispanic Texans is jobs, the economy/inflation and border security, according to recent polls.

Some Democrats and members of the LGBTQ community criticized Hinojosa, saying his remarks were “irresponsible and offensive.” They also pointed to the Texas Democratic Party platform’s commitment to expanding LGBTQ and transgender rights.

In response to the criticism, Hinojosa apologized and blamed Republicans. “In frustration over the GOP's lies to incite hate for trans communities, I failed to communicate my thoughts with care and clarity,” he said.

Not soon after, he announced he planned to resign in May, saying his reason for doing so was the “devastating defeats up and down the ballot in Texas and across the country.” He also called for party unity going forward.

The same groups who criticized Hinojosa also criticized former Democrat state Rep. Shawn Thierry after she advocated for parental rights on the issue of school choice, protecting children from irreversible sex change surgeries, and protecting girls and women in sports and education from transgender policies she says are harmful. Texas Democrats vilified, censured and primaried her after she voted for a bill to ban sex-reassignment surgeries for minors in Texas, The Center Square reported. Opponents spent more than $1 million to unseat her in a runoff election that she lost to an LGBTQ activist.

She next left the Democratic Party, switching to become a Republican, saying, “This is not the party I grew up with. I have witnessed firsthand how the so-called ‘liberal’ left now stifles thoughtful debate, silencing dissent with an iron fist – demanding blind allegiance to ideology, where one must ‘comply or be cast out.’”

After this election, Texas Democrats haven’t won a statewide race since 1994.