Member, State Board of Education, District 2

Victoria Hinojosa

Republican

On ballot as: Victoria Hinojosa
Current role: Regional business development manager, Millennium Engineers Group, Inc. (per Ballotpedia)
Background: U.S. Coast Guard veteran
Former customer service representative, Wells Fargo (per Ballotpedia)
Mother of four (per campaign)
Three children in public school in London ISD (per campaign)
Experience: Member, Nueces County Republican Women (per her candidate questionnaire)
Service as a Republican state convention alternate (per her candidate questionnaire)
Republican primary (March 3, 2026): won, 58.8% over incumbent LJ Francis and Carrie Moore
Top priorities: "I believe in results-based education."
Parents "should be actively involved in their children's education and have full access to curriculum"
Will "continue to build opportunities for trade school and college credit programs"
Will work to ensure textbooks "reflect quality content and uphold the values we share, free from inappropriate material"
Tidbits: Curriculum and instructional materials: Campaign site: will work to ensure textbooks "reflect quality content and uphold the values we share, free from inappropriate material"
Library books: No public statement found
School funding and bonds: In a 2026 primary iVoterGuide questionnaire, on cutting waste: "Prioritize efficiency within our schools, administration down."
Vouchers / school choice: No public statement found
Endorsements: Texas Home School Coalition
Texas Right to Life PAC (primary)
Representative Briscoe Cain (primary)
Representative Tom Oliverson (primary)
Los Fresnos Mayor Alejandro Flores (primary)
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Representative Hillary Hickland (primary)
Senator Adam Hinojosa (primary)
Campaign website: victoriafortexas.org

Thomas Ray Garcia

Democratic

On ballot as: Thomas Ray Garcia
Current role: English professor, South Texas College
Background: Valedictorian, PSJA North High School class of 2012
Bachelor's degree in English, Princeton University
Master's degree in English, UCLA
Master's degree in higher education administration, UTRGV
Author, books about South Texas
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Co-founder, Beyond Borders Books, publisher (2024)
From Pharr
Experience: Founder, College Scholarship Leadership Access Program (CSLAP), at age 19
Later executive director and board chairman, CSLAP
Former high school teacher
Taught composition, literature and creative writing courses at UCLA as a graduate student
Democratic primary (March 3, 2026): unopposed
Top priorities: "I am against our state's school voucher program."
"I am against the state-developed Bluebonnet Learning curriculum."
"I am against using the STAAR to grade public schools' accountability scores."
"I support funding increases to Texas public schools, especially for school safety and literacy initiatives."
"I support pay increases for school workers."
Tidbits: Curriculum and instructional materials: "I am against the state-developed Bluebonnet Learning curriculum."
Library books: "I believe local communities should have the freedom to decide what books belong in their own school libraries."
School funding and bonds: "I support funding increases to Texas public schools, especially for school safety and literacy initiatives."
Vouchers / school choice: "I am against our state's school voucher program." He says he supports "school choice in the form of open-enrollment public schools"
Endorsements: Texas AFL-CIO
Texas AFT
Campaign website: thomasraygarciatx.com