Abbott attacks Hinojosa in Lotería-themed social media post

AUSTIN, Texas - In a post made on Facebook this week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted a photo depicting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa as a "Lotería" card.

The caption reads: 

"Rather than teach our students the principles that made Texas and America exceptional, Gina Hinojosa wants to radicalize your children with drag queen story hour, all while keeping parents in the dark.

"She calls herself a ‘Mad Mom.’ Texans agree: her extreme agenda is completely mad, and we will not let her bring it into your children’s classrooms."

The card features Hinojosa's face on a "La Payasa" card, which means "the clown," with a poster that depicts the transgender pride flag with the word "transition," another poster with "1619" on it, and numerous nods to the LGBTQ+ community.

Loteria is a traditional Mexican game of chance similar to bingo that's played with a deck of cards instead of numbered balls. The game is a symbol of Mexican identity, family bonding and heritage. 

Comments call for debate, question Abbott on education

Comments on Abbott's post questioned the governor on the state's education ranking and lack of debate between Abbott and Hinojosa.

What they're saying:

• "A debate on issues would be better than name calling," one commenter wrote.
• "Texans would like to see our current state leadership participate in the time honored American tradition of debating their democratic opponents," another said.
• "What PLACE DOES TEXAS TAKE IN EDUCATION????????? We know that it doesn't care about children's education, it just wants to get richer and richer and that's enough," a commenter said.
• "Quick question," another commenter said. "What rank is Texas in overall education? And does TEA not dictate the curriculum?"

When asked about the post, Abbott campaign spokesperson Eduardo Leal said the campaign was exposing what they called Hinojosa's "dangerous record."

"Hypocrite Hinojosa is an out-of-touch Democrat socialist who is intent on indoctrinating our students with a woke, radical agenda," Leal said. "She’s clowning the people of Texas, and we will continue to expose her dangerous record."

The other side:

Hinojosa spokesperson Tommy Kubischek said they were welcome to talk to Abbott on the debate stage.

"Greg Abbott has to lie because he's been governor for 12 years and prices are through the roof," Kubischek said. "He should stop making GIFs and start actually working for Texans. If he wants to talk about Gina, he should do it on the debate stage."

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