More than 70 Latino Democratic leaders from across the United States have sent a letter to the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) requesting a $10 million investment in the Texas gubernatorial race. The request comes as a New York Times/Siena College poll, released on Saturday, September 26, 2026, showed Democratic candidate Gina Hinojosa leading Republican incumbent Governor Greg Abbott by three percentage points. The poll result fell within the margin of error.
The DGA, currently chaired by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, has prioritized defending incumbent Democratic governors and focusing on races in Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada. The letter, signed by leaders including six members of the U.S. House from Texas, stated that the DGA is spending at least $10 million in Virginia, New Jersey, and Arizona. The signatories argued that the national party risks repeating past mistakes by not investing in Latino candidates and voters in Texas.
According to campaign finance reports and media tracking, Hinojosa faces a significant financial gap. Governor Abbott has spent nearly $48 million on campaign advertisements since the beginning of September, while Hinojosa has spent approximately $4 million. Hinojosa recently stated she would report raising $20 million for the race, though she continues to be outspent by a ratio of roughly 12-to-1 on television airwaves over the last four weeks.
Governor Beshear said in a statement that the DGA has not ruled out further support and is currently providing staff and paying some expenses for the Hinojosa campaign. The DGA also sent a response letter inviting the leaders to collaborate on fundraising for Hinojosa. However, the leaders reported that a request for a personal meeting with Beshear went unanswered. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, currently lists the Texas gubernatorial race as "Likely Republican."
The specific scale of the financial disparity is noted in the $44 million gap between Abbott and Hinojosa's recent advertising expenditures. On a per-voter basis, the requested $10 million would supplement Hinojosa's $20 million fundraising total, though she would still remain significantly behind Abbott’s $48 million in recent ad spending alone. Latino Democratic leaders argue that without this national investment, the party may fail to engage a demographic they consider essential for winning statewide in Texas.
This situation sets a precedent for how national organizations like the DGA balance the protection of existing seats versus attempts to expand into Republican-leaning territory. The DGA's response indicates a preference for resource-sharing rather than direct cash infusion, a move that signatories in the letter suggest could lead to "lasting damage" to party coalitions. What happens next depends on the DGA’s final budget allocations as Election Day approaches; no specific deadline for a funding decision has been reported, but the campaign is now in its closing weeks.