Texas PAC calls for resignation of Democratic Party Chair

"Mothers Against Greg Abbott," a Texas-based political action committee (PAC) called for the immediate resignation of the top two leaders of the Texas Democratic Party on Thursday.

The call for Texas Democratic Chair Gilberto Hinojosa to step down follows recent remarks he made implying that transgender Texans bear responsibility for the disappointing losses by Democrats in Texas. "You have a choice as a party," he told KUT in Austin. "...you can support transgender rights up and down...or you can understand that there's certain things that we just go too far on, that a big bulk of our population does not support."

In a series of X posts on Thursday, Nancy Thompson, founder of the PAC, described Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa as an "absent" leader and wrote, "It is time to do the right thing. We need leadership that knocks on doors, calls time, and doesn't just show up for photos! It's time for real leadership."

The group is also calling for Vice Chair Shay Wyrick Cathey to step down.

"Texas Democrats deserve better than what we're getting from the current leadership that is in place. Our candidates deserve better. Our precinct chairs deserve better. Our county chairs deserve better," Thompson told Chron. "Our donors deserve a return on their investment in the Democratic party, and currently that's not happening because we're losing ground. We're losing ground in the backyards of where our leaders live, and that tells me that they're not doing their work."

According to Thompson, the Lone Star State's Democratic party requires leaders who are good at organizing and bringing many different people together under the mission of the Democratic partyDemocratic party.

She said they must be willing to do the "dirty work," such as being active on social media, door-knocking and fundraising.

"Our party chairs do a lot with very little support, very poor training, very little money, and very poor messaging from the Democratic party in Texas," Thompson noted. "I just want us to do better, and I don't see how we can do better."

Thompson described the problem as a longstanding issue. Hinojosa has chaired the party since 2012 and has faced calls to resign from his role in the past. He was most recently reelected in 2022 and will be up for reelection again in 2026.

In response to Hinojosa's statements, the President of the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus, Austin David Ruiz, said, "Hate is not a Texas value, and it shouldn't be a value of Texas Democrats. Throwing blame on Trans people is disgustingly demonstrative at worst and a disingenuous excuse at best."

"Rather than looking at this marginalized group, there really needs to be a collective beat taken within the movement to see how the party can move forward," Ruiz added in an interview with Chron.