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

LGBTQ / Social Issues

Greg Abbott (R)

Abbott has signed every major restrictive LGBTQ measure to reach his desk. On June 2, 2023, he signed SB 14, banning puberty blockers, hormones, and gender-transition surgeries for minors and putting providers' licenses at risk; the Texas Supreme Court upheld it on June 28, 2024. He signed the 2023 'Save Women's Sports Act' (SB 15) barring transgender college athletes from women's teams, building on the 2021 K-12 version. On books, he signed HB 900 (the READER Act) on June 12, 2023, requiring vendors to rate library books for sexual content; the Fifth Circuit later affirmed an injunction against the rating mandate while leaving state library-standards portions intact. In June 2025 he signed SB 12, the 'Parental Bill of Rights,' which took effect September 1, 2025 and bans school staff from helping students 'socially transition' — including by using preferred pronouns — bans school DEI offices, and prohibits student clubs based on sexual orientation or gender identity. He also issued the February 2022 directive ordering DFPS to investigate parents of trans youth for child abuse.

Gina Hinojosa (D)

Hinojosa opposed SB 14 (88R, 2023), the law banning puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and transition-related surgery for Texas minors, which passed despite three Democratic crossovers (Dutton, King, Thierry) — Hinojosa was not among them and voted with her caucus against the ban. She voted 'no' on the Parents Bill of Rights (SB 12, 89R, 2025), the omnibus that would have banned preferred-pronoun use, restricted gender-identity discussion, and dissolved gender/sexuality student clubs in Texas public schools. She filed HB 73 in 2021 to ban the 'gay/trans panic' defense in Texas criminal trials; the bill was rejected in committee. On book bans, she was one of only two Democrats on the House Public Education Committee to vote against HB 900 (the READER Act), publicly mocking that her son's favorite series like 'Captain Underpants' could fall under its 'pervasively vulgar' language. She has consistently sided with LGBTQ student and youth-protection positions across multiple sessions.

Sources

  1. Brian Lopez, 'Texas House passes library book restrictions; Hinojosa and Talarico oppose in committee,' Texas Tribune, April 19, 2023. (full list)
  2. Teach the Vote (ATPE), candidate profile for Gina Hinojosa with legislative voting record on education and social-issue bills. (full list)
  3. Eleanor Klibanoff, 'Texas bans gender-affirming care for trans minors,' Texas Tribune, June 2, 2023. (full list)
  4. CBS News, 'Texas Save Women's Sports Act, SB 15, signed by Greg Abbott,' 2023. (full list)
  5. Brian Lopez, 'Texas book ban law HB 900 hit with lawsuit,' Texas Tribune, July 25, 2023. (full list)
  6. Texas AFT, 'SB 12, the Parents Bill of Rights, deep dive,' 2025 — pronoun, DEI, and GSA provisions. (full list)
  7. Texas Observer, 'Texas Lege 2025 anti-LGBTQ bills passed,' 2025. (full list)
  8. Newsweek, 'Democrats help Republicans ban gender-affirming care for transgender kids,' 2023 — names three Democratic crossovers; Hinojosa voted against the ban. (full list)
  9. 'Gina Hinojosa,' Wikipedia, accessed May 2026 — legislative record including HB 73 gay/trans panic defense ban. (full list)