Home to the centerpiece of Elon Musk's Texas empire, Cameron County delivered overwhelming victories to Democratic candidates in 2026 despite the billionaire's record-breaking political spending on Republican causes. The result highlights a striking tension: One of the region's most transformed by Musk's economic investments also became one of the strongest supporters of candidates who openly challenged his political influence. But Cameron County is not just the home of SpaceX's Starbase launch facility near Boca Chica.
It is also the home county of Democrat Gina Hinojosa, a Brownsville native who spent much of her campaign attacking what she characterized as Republican Governor Greg Abbott's close relationship with Musk. Brownsville Mayor John Cowen Jr. called Hinojosa's election victory over Abbott a "proud moment" for the city and said he looked forward to working with her administration. Hinojosa vowed Thursday to work with Musk in Texas.
"We can have a strong working relationship with Elon Musk and his companies, but it has to be on our terms. We have always been a pro-business state, but data centers have moved into mostly rural communities and there are no rules to protect Texans, so the difference is we will have laws to protect Texans. We can have a strong economy and strong industry, and protections for Texans," Hinojosa told CNN.
Newsweek reached out to Hinojosa's campaign and SpaceX for comment. In Texas' marquee races, voters in Cameron County backed James Talarico over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton by 68 percent to 30 percent. Hinojosa trounced Abbott in the county, 67 percent to 32 percent.
In 2024, President Donald Trump carried Cameron County with 52.5 percent of the vote. Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez narrowly defeated Republican Mayra Flores in one of South Texas' most closely watched contests. Two years later, Democrats dominated the county.
Gonzalez won reelection with 62 percent of the vote, while Democrats swept major statewide contests, including governor, Senate, lieutenant governor and attorney general. At an early-voting rally, Hinojosa framed the election as a choice between billionaire influence and ordinary Texans. "Is this going to be a Texas that is by and for the people, or is this the billionaires' world and we just live here?" she asked the crowd.
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