Texas: The Issue Is - State Rep. Gina Hinojosa on big changes to 2024 presidential race

AUSTIN, Texas - The issue for Texas Democrats is what to do with their votes designated for President Joe Biden. 

With the president now bowing out before the Democratic National Convention next month, delegates from the Lone Star State decided to hop onto the Kamala Harris bandwagon. One of those delegates is State Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin).

Hinojosa spoke with FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski about her decision to back Harris now and not wait to have a contested convention in Chicago.

GINA HINOJOSA: So Vice President Harris has been a champion for Texas and for our fight for freedom. The entire time she has been in the vice presidency. We went to DC when we broke quorum to secure our voting rights. She was the first to welcome us. We spent a lot of time with her talking strategy. She met with us three times actually while we were there. She also invited me back as a representative from the Texas House to work on our freedom to access abortion care and our freedom to access reproductive health care of all sorts. And this administration has actively sought to protect those freedoms for vital health care, in ways that they have been able to, that have helped Texans. She herself has led that effort, and so she has proven to be a leader who values Texas and fights for our freedoms.

RUDY KOSKI: The clock is ticking. Y'all don't have a lot of time to reboot. 

GINA HINOJOSA: We don't have a lot of time, but there is such energy and enthusiasm with this candidate. My phone has been blowing up since she became our front-runner for the presidency. People want to help. They want to be engaged. They want to be in this. We are hearing it about our House races all across this state. You know, we are 12 seats away from a Democratic majority in the 150 member House. And for a lot of those seats that we're focused on, and we've got about 20 seats where Biden won 45% of the vote or better last time. But so much of our work is about enthusiasm and turnout. And so this definitely gives our candidates the boost they need at the top of the ticket to just support the work they're doing on the field, on the ground.

RUDY KOSKI: Why now? Why not wait until you get to Chicago and just work it out there?

GINA HINOJOSA: [00:02:45] In many ways, this train has left the station and it's not strategy. It was an organic energy and enthusiasm that led to everybody throwing in their support for our vice president. So, sure, we can have those conversations, but my understanding of what I've seen, what I've heard, is that most everyone is already there in support of our vice president. 

RUDY KOSKI: Do you think that she will make Texas a priority?

GINA HINOJOSA: We have an incredible Senate candidate, Colin Allred, who's going to be in some ways her surrogate, I believe, fighting to defeat Ted Cruz who is viewed as the second most unpopular senator in the whole U.S. Senate. But I think with Colin at the top of the ticket, with the vice president really running, being our standard-bearer and with our House Democratic candidates all across the state who are in neighborhoods in their communities, working in the field, talking to voters, I think that just put us in a good spot for November, where we got every tier covered. We're talking to our community at every level, and I'm excited about November. 

RUDY KOSKI: Does that VP pick need to come with the label of progressive? Moderate? Or does it matter to you? 

GINA HINOJOSA: You know, I don't put too much weight into those labels anymore. I think mostly those are about style and not about substance in some ways. And so I just want to see a candidate who works hard, who's focused on winning, who has a track record of working for the people. Those are my basic requirements for any vice presidential candidate.