Democrat candidate for Texas governor wants to give every Texan $1,500

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- State Representative Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, wants to give every Texas household $1,500.

The money would come from the state's rainy-day fund, which currently sits at more than $27 billion. It's money, she says, that should go to the taxpayers who need it now.

"That is $1,500 to every Texas household at a time when Texans are struggling in this high-cost economy," she said at a press conference Tuesday morning in front of a grocery store in Houston's Third Ward.

Hinojosa would need 2/3 of the state legislature- likely controlled by Republicans -to approve the move from what's officially called the Economic Stabilization Fund, which gets its money primarily from oil & gas taxes.

After giving the money to more than 11 million Texas households, the fund would still have an estimated $10 billion, she says.

After the announcement, Hinojosa joined ABC13 in studio to continue the conversation.

"People don't believe government can work for them," she said. " I've lost trust in government, frankly. And so this is a way to give money to the people while we rebuild a government that works for them. "

In a recent survey by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, Texans were mixed in their assessment of Abbott's handling of the economy.

Overall, they were split down the middle with strong partisan feelings. But independents disapproved at a rate of more than 3 to 1.

But since Governor Abbott first took office in 2015, the Texas economy has grown. According to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, it's up 46% adjusted for inflation over the last decade.

Nonetheless, Hinojosa said she thinks her plan will resonate with Texans.

"It is a different kind of proposal," she said. "It's unorthodox, especially for a Democrat to be proposing this? And I think in 2026, people will want something outside the usual. People want something different. People don't want more of the same."

ABC13 reached out to Governor Abbott's campaign several times for comment. As of late Tuesday afternoon, they had not responded.