How They DifferAbbott · Hinojosa 2026
A no bullshit non-partisan comparison of political candidates
Aggregate score
Abbott 3.9Hinojosa 5.4 H +1.5
Issues

Foreign Policy

Greg Abbott (R)

Abbott has used the governorship as a foreign-policy platform, particularly on China, Israel, and the U.S.-Mexico border. He signed Texas's anti-BDS law (HB 89) on Israeli Independence Day, May 2, 2017, barring state contracts and pension investments with companies that boycott Israel — a U.S. district judge later struck down portions after Pflugerville speech pathologist Bahia Amawi was forced out for refusing the pledge. On June 20, 2025, he signed SB 17, prohibiting individuals and entities tied to China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from buying Texas land, water, mineral, or commercial real-property interests; the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance sued July 3, 2025. He has issued a series of executive orders targeting Chinese state influence, and on Ukraine he has publicly aligned with Trump's America-first posture, posting that 'Joe Biden needs to stop giving money to foreign countries like Ukraine.' On Mexico he has maintained working MOUs with the governors of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas while deploying the Texas Tactical Border Force alongside the Trump administration in 2025.

Gina Hinojosa (D)

Hinojosa's foreign-policy footprint is light for a state-house member; the most specific position on the record is her self-reported support for the BDS movement, listed on her iVoterGuide candidate profile as backing 'Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions to pressure Israel to withdraw from occupied territories, remove the separation barrier in the West Bank, allow full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees' (candidate self-report). On the border/Mexico question she has framed Operation Lone Star and SB 4 as bad-faith political theater rather than serious binational policy and has invoked her family's Rio Grande Valley and Mexican-American roots, with her Brownsville launch using her grandmother's phrase 'no te dejes.' The publicly available record does not include specific Hinojosa statements on Ukraine aid, Taiwan, broader China policy, or the 2023 Texas foreign-land-ownership bills (SB 147/SB 17) restricting Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean nationals' property purchases. Foreign affairs is not a stated pillar of her gubernatorial platform.

Sources

  1. Gina Hinojosa for Texas Governor, official campaign priorities page, accessed May 2026. (full list)
  2. Texas Tribune, 'Gina Hinojosa joins Democratic race for Texas governor,' Oct. 15, 2025. (full list)
  3. The Monitor (MyRGV), 'Democrat cites Valley roots in bid to challenge Republican Gov. Greg Abbott,' Oct. 24, 2025. (full list)
  4. Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 'Texas governor signs anti-BDS law on Israeli Independence Day,' May 3, 2017. (full list)
  5. Houston Public Media, 'Gov. Abbott expected to sign bill blocking land sales to people connected with four foreign governments,' June 20, 2025. (full list)
  6. Newsweek, 'Greg Abbott's war on China,' 2025 — executive orders and divestment record. (full list)
  7. Gov. Greg Abbott, X (formerly Twitter), 'Joe Biden needs to stop giving money to foreign countries like Ukraine.' 2025. (full list)
  8. Office of the Governor, 'Texas partners with Trump administration on border security' — 2025 Tactical Border Force deployment. (full list)
  9. iVoterGuide, candidate profile for Gina Hinojosa — self-reported BDS support entry (candidate self-report). (full list)