Democrats Predict Hispanic Wave in Texas as Hinojosa Takes Her Pitch Ringside to Latino Men

A fight-night campaign message

Hinojosa’s advertisement, titled “No Te Dejes,” uses a Spanish expression meaning “Don’t let yourself be pushed around.” It carries the same “Fight back” message central to her campaign. The spot is scheduled to run on DAZN, the sports streaming service carrying Saturday’s fight. Hinojosa is directing the message toward Hispanic men, a significant voting bloc in Texas.

Democrats look beyond traditional ads

The campaign reflects a wider Democratic effort to reach Latino men through sports and culturally relevant programming, rather than depending only on conventional political commercials. In Arizona, Democrat Ruben Gallego used boxing gatherings, rodeos, cookouts and other community events to connect with Latino men during his successful 2024 Senate campaign. He defeated Republican Kari Lake and became Arizona’s first Latino U.S. senator, while Donald Trump carried the state by nearly six percentage points that year.

Abbott makes his own appeal

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign has also sought Latino voters. It released a Spanish-language advertisement portraying Hinojosa as too socially liberal for Texas. Press secretary Eduardo Leal said last week that Hinojosa’s policies do not reflect “the values of the Hispanic community.” Abbott has also pointed to his wife Cecilia’s status as Texas’ first Hispanic first lady.

Voter concerns shape the contest

Hinojosa told CBS News that Trump’s success with Hispanic voters in 2024 reflected a message that appealed to Texans who believed the political establishment had failed them. Democrats hope that support will prove temporary; nationwide polling indicates many Latino voters have moved away from Trump since 2024, and Texas Democratic strategists have cited strong turnout in heavily Latino areas during this year’s primary.

Rocha told CBS News that many Hispanic voters are frustrated by high gas prices and other cost-of-living concerns, as well as Trump’s immigration policies. He described voters as unusually united in their anger, while also saying many could not identify the Democratic plan to lower prices.