Pope Leo XIV
papacy 2025–

Pope Leo XIV's first year has signaled migrant welcome, opposition to deportation as collective punishment, a focus on AI's social cost, and concern about state suppression of dissent — themes pulled forward from Francis. Abbott runs against Leo on every one: Operation Lone Star ($11B+), SB 4 making illegal entry a state crime, the August 2025 mass-arrest order against Democrats who broke quorum, and a hands-off posture toward data-center load growth that shifts costs onto households. Hinojosa's quoted defense of immigrant families, her quorum break against partisan redistricting, and her data-center cost-shifting critique are aligned with the early Leo emphases. Hinojosa picks up substantially more Pope Leo credit; Abbott does not. Both candidates' abortion positions cut differently against the Catholic framework but do not change the broader pattern.