Lupe Valdez Makes History In Texas By Winning Democratic Nod For Governor

Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Texas on Tuesday, kicking off a tough race against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Novembers general election.

Valdezs victory in a runoff while somewhat expected, after she ran well ahead of Democratic opponent Andrew White in the nine-candidate primary in March broke historic barriers as she becomes the first Latina and first openly gay person nominated for governor by a major party in the state.

In Valdez, Texas Democrats chose a lesbian woman of color running on a progressive platform over White, a straight, white Houston businessman and son of a former governor, running as a centrist.

Thank you, Texas! Tonight is for you! pic.twitter.com/onGtnEU53s

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Thank you, Texas! Tonight is for you! pic.twitter.com/onGtnEU53s
Lupe Valdez (@LupeValdez) May 23, 2018

Valdez, 70, faces an uphill battle against Abbott in November. The incumbent, who is favored to win, has amassed more than $40 million for his re-election campaign, while Valdez in recent months raised only about $200,000 . Abbott beat his 2014 opponent, then-state Sen. Wendy Davis, in a landslide , despite strong national support behind the pink-sneakered , pro-choice candidate.

The solidly red state has also not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994. And its been since 1990 that a Democrat won the governors office.

But Valdez, the eighth child born to Mexican-American migrant farmworkers, is used to overcoming long odds. When she became sheriff in 2004, she was the nations only Latina sheriff, and among the states first openly gay sheriffs.

Now she aims to become Texas first-ever Hispanic governor.

For Latino Texans, her win would be a triumph of representation in a state where they make up nearly 40 percent of the population .

Its long overdue to have Latinas sit in these halls of power, native Texan Amy Hinojosa, president of national Latina organization MANA , told HuffPost last month. When you think of the generations of girls to come, to see a Latina, a queer woman in the state house, that just represents such power for young women to be able to aspire to that.