Editorial: Gilberto Hinojosa was a loyal state Democratic Party chair, but it’s time to make a change

The post-election bloodletting for the Democratic Party has begun, and state party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa was among the first to go. The former Cameron County judge, district judge and appeals court judge announced his resignation Friday after dutifully serving the state party machine since 2012. He said he will serve until March 2025.

After more than a decade in which not a single Democrat was elected to statewide office, it’s time for a change.

However, if the party wishes to have any success reversing its steady decline in Texas — including in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the state’s most dedicated Democratic Party strongholds — it doesn’t just need a new chairman. It needs a different chairman.

Hinojosa’s devotion to his party can’t be questioned. He has long been an active member, and as a member of the 13th Court of appeals he wrote the ruling that allowed former Hidalgo County Sheriff Brigido Marmolejo to stay in office after his conviction on federal bribery, money laundering and racketeering charges.

But the party needs more than a dedicated soldier who has the party’s best interest at heart. Hinojosa is a lawyer, and if Democrats want to have any chance at reversing their weakening status throughout the state, they need a political strategist who can compile relevant information regarding public opinions of issues, party positions and candidates, and utilize that information to formulate strong campaigns that can give party candidates better chances of success in future elections.

To be sure, Hinojosa might have had little control over the party’s slate of candidates and campaign positions. The party chairman, however, needs to help guide campaigns and evaluate voter attitudes in order to downplay positions that prove unpopular and take advantage of candidates’ strengths.

Some Democratic Party candidates have appeared to resonate with the public, including Wendy Davis, who ran a high-profile campaign for governor in 2014, and Beto O’Rourke, who lost a close U.S. Senate race against Ted Cruz in 2018. Might they and other candidates have fared better with better strategic involvement from the state party machine? We’ll never know.

Texas needs two strong parties — at least. History has shown that a single dominant party sees little need to consider ideas from others, no matter how good those ideas might be. Moreover, single-party dominance tends to invite patronage and corruption, as we have seen with countless Democratic Party officials in South Texas and Republicans such as Ken Paxton in Austin and Donald Trump in Washington.

After years of decline, Democrats could use new blood and new ideas, beginning with skilled strategists that can help identify and attract strong candidates and build strong campaigns to support them.

Texas Democrats can certainly thank Gilberto Hinojosa for his many years of dedicated service to the party. His departure gives party leaders the opportunity — and perhaps a mandate — to completely reevaluate their positions and strategies, and be willing to make wholesale changes to help them build a stronger future for the party and for a state that needs more voices and options.

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