A little more than three weeks before Election Day, Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor of Texas, sat back in her chair in a small conference room at a community center in the Houston suburb of Cypress.
asserted
Hinojosa → sit → Cypress
The 52-year-old Democratic state representative had just spoken for 45 minutes and fielded questions from a roomful of educators and their allies on everything from vouchers to data centers to traffic.
asserted
representative → speak → traffic
She had been criss-crossing the state for months, while beaming into podcasts and TV shows outside it to build buzz and try to persuade national donors to spend money on a contest that was never supposed to be this close.
asserted
that → cris → contest
When I walked in, Hinojosa was powering through her first migraine in years and had slathered her hands, she told an aide, with honey Throat Coat, thinking it was sanitizer.
asserted
it → walk → Coat
But when I asked her to describe her opponent, three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, in a word, Hinojosa brightened.
asserted
Hinojosa → ask → word
If you’ve been paying any attention to national politics this year, you could probably guess what she said:
“Corrupt.”
uncertain
she → pay → what
Could she elaborate?
uncertain
she → elaborate → ?
She would love to.
asserted
She → love → ?
“He has given a billion dollars in no bid contracts to his donors,” she said.
asserted
she → give → donors
“He’s waived competitive bidding laws in the state of Texas every month since 2020.”
asserted
He → waive → 2020
Abbott had taken $12 million in campaign funds from “an out-of-state billionaire” voucher activist and pushed through a $1 billion-a-year subsidy for private schools.
asserted
Abbott → take → schools
During Winter Storm Uri, when a massive power failure led to hundreds of deaths, Abbott allowed companies to “make billions in record profits” through a sudden price surge, and then received large campaign checks from the CEO of the company that received the greatest windfall.
asserted
that → lead → windfall
In Austin, she said, “the only bills we’re really allowed to vote on that are of real consequence and have dollar figures attached to them are bills that are pushed by the moneyed interests who donate to Greg Abbott.”
asserted
who → say → Abbott
To Hinojosa, this intermingling of state business and donor service explained why everyone else was paying more and getting less these days.
asserted
everyone → intermingle → less
Taxpayers paid Abbott donors to build National Guard barracks and staff migrant processing centers on the border.
asserted
Taxpayers → pay → border
Ratepayers got the invoice for grid repairs after Uri.
asserted
Ratepayers → get → Uri
Regular Texans lost out on both ends when Abbott lavished the world’s richest companies with incentives for data centers.
asserted
Abbott → lose → centers
And everyone was sharing the tab for Abbott’s misplaced priorities through rising property taxes at the local level.
asserted
everyone → share → level
“It is the Greg Abbott corruption tax,” she said, “and we all pay it.”
asserted
we → say → it
I had come to Cypress to figure out what the hell was going on.
asserted
hell → come → Cypress
While the US Senate race between Democratic state Rep. James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton was always expected to be close, Abbott’s quest for a fourth term was supposed to be a steamroller.
asserted
quest → expect → term
A state legislator from Austin by way of Brownsville, she first got involved in local politics when she found out her son’s elementary school was slated to close, and ended up leading the school board in one of the largest districts in the state.
asserted
school → involve → state
She was well respected and well connected: Her father, Gilberto, was the longtime state Democratic Party chair; her sister, Xochitl, was a DNC spokesperson.
asserted
sister → respect → ?
But Abbott had won every election by double digits and his nine-figure war chest was enough to persuade national Democrats to take one look at Texas and give Kansas a chance.
asserted
chest → win → chance
But despite $281 million in spending from Abbott, much of it on attack ads, the race remains close.
asserted
race → remain → ads
Although the incumbent is still favored, Hinojosa boasted at the town hall that she had led in four different polls in recent weeks.
asserted
she → favor → weeks
(“And not minor polls, big dog polls,” she said.)
asserted
she → say → ?
Her own fundraising had taken off—nowhere close to parity, but close enough to have a shot.
asserted
fundraising → take → shot
Even if she loses, she would likely outperform every Democratic candidate for governor since Ann Richards.
asserted
she → lose → Richards
Just as significant is how she has done it.
asserted
done → do → it
Ever since Zohran Mamdani started talking about “halalflation,” you’ve been hearing a lot about affordability.
asserted
you → start → affordability
But $5.99-a-gallon diesel, rising rent, and higher bills are data points in need of a plot.
asserted
diesel → rise → plot
Across the country, up and down the ballot, against an unprecedented tide of billionaire cash, Democrats like Hinojosa have supplied one: The story of the 2026 election is corruption.
asserted
story → supply → election
Watch enough midterm ads, or literally just watch the local news programs they’re airing on, and you may get the distinct impression that America is not well.
uncertain
America → watch → impression
As my colleague Russ Choma recently reported, most Americans seem to think so too.
asserted
Americans → report → ?
In a recent Fox News survey, more voters said they were “extremely” or “very concerned” about government corruption than they were about inflation and gas prices.
asserted
they → say → inflation
According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans who believe corruption is “widespread throughout the government” is the highest on record—up 16 points in two years, and 30 since 2006.
uncertain
corruption → accord → 2006
A survey last December found that 70 percent of Americans thought the government was covering for powerful people in the Epstein files.
asserted
government → find → files
The belief that high-level members of Congress are habitually cashing in on inside information is so pervasive there are
asserted
members → cash → information
Years of declining trust in load-bearing institutions propelled Donald Trump to the presidency, and sustained him in office.
asserted
Years → decline → office
…and 93 more, not listed.
The Aporia
