Garcia’s win over Republican Victoria Hinojosa returns South Texas to Democratic control after stronghold flipped in 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2026
Contact:
Andrew Freeman, [email protected], 512-746-8404
AUSTIN, Texas – Democrat Thomas Ray Garcia defeated Republican Victoria Hinojosa with 58% of the vote in a contest to determine who would go on to represent District 2 (Corpus Christi and South Texas) at the State Board of Education.
Incumbent LJ Francis lost his bid against Hinojosa in the Republican primary earlier this year.
Texas Freedom Network endorsed Garcia because of his background as an educator and commitment to teaching the truth in the classroom. TFN spent about $100,000 targeting 35,000 low propensity voters in the region with 35,000 mailers, 60,000 calls and more than 100,000 text messages.
“Texas students deserve a complete and honest education, free from the ideologies of politicians on the Board. As an educator elected to serve, Thomas Ray Garcia actually understands this,” said Carisa Lopez, Deputy Director of the Texas Freedom Network. “We are thrilled to have him fighting for our children, and look forward to the ideas he has to make our schools better for everyone.”
Garcia’s victory Tuesday signals a return to the fundamentals and teaching lessons based on facts. This past year, the State Board of Education used a Republican supermajority to push through a social studies curriculum that was rushed, historically inaccurate and prioritized ideology and politics over education.
That supermajority is now likely to break. Democrat Coretta Mallet-Fontenot is also projected to defeat her Republican incumbent in District 4, and Allison Bush is expected to take District 5 for Democrats. Tiffany Clark held her seat in District 13, and while many races haven’t been called, other narrow victories could leave Republicans with a narrow 8-7 majority.
Garcia was raised by a single mom and is a first-generation college student. He’s a professor and former high school teacher with more than a decade in the classroom. He supports fully funding public schools and rejects the school voucher program.
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The Texas Freedom Network is a grassroots organization of religious and community leaders and young Texans building an informed and effective movement for equality and social justice.
