Texas Democrats' longtime chairman steps down after big losses continue for the party

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The longtime leader of the Texas Democratic Party announced his resignation Friday after another election cycle of lopsided defeats and voters making a dramatic swing toward the GOP on the heavily Hispanic southern border.

Gilberto Hinojosa, a native of the Rio Grande Valley, has served as the Texas Democratic Party chair since 2012. During that time, Democrats have not won any statewide offices and badly lost key races Tuesday.

All but two counties along the Texas-Mexico border, long considered Democratic strongholds, turned red for Trump. It included Hidalgo and Cameron, the two most populous counties in the Rio Grande Valley. President-elect Donald Trump easily won Texas by 14 points, which was more than double his margin of victory in 2020 and a sign of eroding Democratic support.

Hinojosa said he would step down in March 2025.