KINGSVILLE, Texas — One of the few competitive Texas Senate races this year features a rematch between incumbent Democratic Sen. Morgan LaMantia and Republican Adam Hinojosa.

What You Need To Know

  • LaMantia beat Hinojosa by 659 votes in 2022 after the district’s longtime Democratic Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. retired

  • Lucio disapproved of LaMantia’s vote against anti-abortion policies and endorsed Hinojosa this year

  • LaMantia’s incumbent status gives her an edge over her opponent, but Hinojosa believes her voting record makes her bad for South Texas

  • The results of this race won’t change the chamber’s political balance, as there is already a Republican majority in the Senate, but a Hinojosa win would mark a symbolic victory for Republicans like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who want to move the Legislature further to the right
 

The two are vying to represent Texas Senate District 27, which wraps around Corpus Christi and includes Port Aransas, Kingsville and Beeville, as well as border towns like Harlingen and part of McAllen.

LaMantia has been criticized because her family's company loaned her campaign what she considers enough to beat her Republican challenger.

“My family supports me because of the values they instilled. And so they’re supporting my goal here as well, because we know that we don’t do anything partially,” she said.

LaMantia beat Hinojosa by 659 votes in 2022 after the district’s longtime Democratic Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. retired.

“He was basically a Republican in Democratic clothing,” said Mark Kaswan, a professor of political science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Lucio disapproved of LaMantia’s vote against anti-abortion policies and endorsed Hinojosa this year.

“That means everything to me. You know, he endorsed my opponent two years ago, but he also was disappointed in her voting record for protecting life,” said Hinojosa.

As the Democratic dominance in the region wanes, Republicans are running in previously uncontested races, and with the presidential election on the ballot, voter turnout may be the defining factor in this race.

“Historically, Democrats do better in higher turnout years, although there’s no guarantee of that,” said Kaswan.

LaMantia’s incumbent status gives her an edge over her opponent, but Hinojosa believes her voting record makes her bad for South Texas.

“The things that she was against that I would be for. Those are the issues and those are the things that we’re running on,” said Hinojosa.

Without the full context of the legislation, LaMantia thinks her voting record is unfairly presented. She instead focuses on her successes in office.

“I was one of four senators and the only Democrat to not have a single bill vetoed by the governor, so we just want to continue that work,” she said.

An unexpected wrench in the competitive race is Green Party candidate and political newcomer Robin Lee Vargas, who was not available for comment.

“A Green Party candidate might have gained some traction when Sen. Lucio was in office just because he was such a conservative Democrat,” said Kaswan.

The results of this race won’t change the chamber’s political balance, as there is already a Republican majority in the Senate, but a Hinojosa win would mark a symbolic victory for Republicans like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who want to move the Legislature further to the right.