HINOJOSA – WITH PINK APE STRATEGIES – TAKES THE WHOLE ENCHILADA

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Various Sources

The last time that Republican Adam Hinojosa ran for office against Morgan LaMantia for the Texas Senate District 27 seat, he lost by 569 votes. 

Analysts say that he was boosted by the endorsements of president-elect Donald Trump and, perhaps,  that former Democratic Party holder of that office Eddie Lucio Jr.

Still other say that it was the homegrown strategies provided by consultants, including Rodrigo Moreno's Pink Ape Strategies which focused on generating face-to-face encounters between the candidates and the electorate.

Hinojosa told The Texan that one idea – identifying prospective voters and exchanging enchiladas for candidate face-time, with maximized mobility, proved effective. They sent out a text to prospective voters advertising free food at a drive-through for the opportunity to meet the candidate. 

Hinojosa's campaign staffers said that the tactic has worked incredibly well and some events have seen hundreds of cars lined up – a long line that the candidate methodically makes his way down.

That, said Moreno, and basically neutralizing LaMantia's campaign  efforts in the southern part of the District while actively courting the northwest part of the district toward Hidalgo County was used Moreno told The Texan that they figured that if Hinojosa could minimize his losses in Lower Rio Grande Valley, he could win.

Using this strategy, the Corpus Christi Republican narrowly defeated the Valley incumbent for Texas Senate District 27. On Tuesday, the challenger beat incumbent LaMantia by fewer than 3,000 votes.

Hinojosa received 125,875 votes, or 49.39 percent to LaMantia’s 123,063 votes, or 48.28 percent  according to the Texas Secretary of State.

In Cameron County, LaMantia received 58,664 votes, or 52.33 percent, to Hinojosa’s 50,948 votes, or 45.44 percent with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

In Hidalgo County, LaMantia also edged out Hinojosa, but it wasn’t enough to reelect the freshman senator. She received 34,457 votes, or 55.43 percent, to Hinojosa’s 26,950 votes, or 42.13 percent with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

"Our strategy was to think we had the north covered," Moreno – also dubbed El Chango Rosa –  said. "If we could withstand LaMantia's attacks and hold the fort in Cameron County, keeping them busy and focusing in Brownsville, then we could maximize our efforts in Hidalgo and gain ground, and then coming in with the 'left-hook' from up north that General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. used to defeat Saddam in Iraq."

In 2022, Republicans conducted redistricting that added Bee, Nueces and San Patricio counties to District 27 in addition to Cameron, Hidalgo, Kleberg and Willacy counties. She won that race by just 569 votes. She received 87,860 votes for 50.2 percent to Hinojosa’s 87,291 for 49.8 percent.

During LaMantia's campaign, she reiterated that she was against Gov. Greg Abbott’s school voucher plan, which failed to pass in the last legislative session. Instead, she said she wanted to increase school funding.