Though it may feel like just yesterday that the battles were raging over the 2024 general election, we are now less than one year away from the 2026 midterm election. Much has been made about what these elections — ranging from school board to Congress — will mean for our communities, our state, and our country.
Between never-ending news cycles about this issue or that issue, we believe public education will be a flashpoint for Texas’s elections in particular. With that in mind, Texas AFT’s Committee on Political Education (COPE) is proud to endorse Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor and Montserrat Garibay to take Hinojosa’s state House seat in Austin (HD-49).
Reasons for endorsement
Gina Hinojosa has been a steadfast supporter of public education for her entire career. Before her time in the Legislature, she was an Austin ISD board trustee who worked closely with district employees and their union, Education Austin. On the AISD board, she was a relentless advocate for increasing state funding for public schools. Elected to the state Legislature in 2016, Hinojosa burnished her reputation as a public education champion by authoring bills to raise public education employee wages and funding, and helping to lead the fight against privatization schemes in 2023 and 2025.
“I have just so appreciated working in partnership with Texas AFT for so many years, in the Texas House, and before, on the school board,” Rep. Hinojosa told Texas AFT’s Executive Council this month. “[Educators] sent me to the Texas House. … This is our run, together — just like every fight we had in the Texas House was together. I have done my best to be a fighter for teachers, for school employees, and I will continue to be that fighter.”
When Hinojosa is elected governor in November 2026, we hope her seat in the state House will be filled by Montserrat Garibay. Garibay’s resume includes an impressive stint as the assistant deputy secretary for the Office of English Language Acquisition in the Biden Administration’s Department of Education, but it’s her history as a labor leader in Education Austin and the Texas AFL-CIO that underscores her commitment to worker power and improving public education.
In a crowded primary for the state representative seat in the urban part of Austin, Garibay, one of our own, is by far the most qualified and best choice for public education employees. She could also be one of two AFT members elected to serve in the 90th Legislature, alongside Adrian Reyna running for HD 125 in San Antonio.
Why this matters now
The aftermath of vouchers. The witch hunt in higher education. A dubious “partnership” between Turning Point USA and our statewide elected officials. Religion in the classroom and its exhausting litigation. This is the reality of Texas public education right. But it doesn’t have to be. Already, Texans have started to voice their displeasure with current leadership – Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval rating has taken a hit, and recent wins in school board elections underscore a growing outrage with the way things stand. Texans are starting to demand better, and we can have it with elected officials like Gina Hinojosa and Montserrat Garibay at the helm.
Texans can vote in the upcoming primary election on March 3, 2026, with early voting starting on February 17. The last day to register to vote for this election is February 2.