Jessica Lemmons calls the ad a bad move but tells Texas voters to stay on target
Texas writer, in her independently published Substack newsletter
“Yes, I saw the 'my pronouns are' ad, and yes. I also think that was a bad move that didn't consider the reality trans people living here face; but Governor Abbott wants to erase trans people altogether.”
Source and context
Analysis
About this source
Self-published newsletter post by Jessica Lemmons, a Texas writer who publishes a politics newsletter on Substack, dated September 11, 2026. The post argues that Texas voters should keep their attention on Abbott's record rather than on Hinojosa's campaign missteps; its title is "Stay on target, Texas voters." Lemmons writes independently and holds no institutional affiliation.
Before the quotation
The post was published two days after the ad, as criticism of it circulated alongside criticism of James Talarico's Fox News remarks.
After the quotation
Lemmons writes independently and holds no institutional affiliation; her post argues that Abbott's record on transgender Texans is the more consequential question in the race.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Did Gina Hinojosa’s “Pronouns” ad mock transgender Texans?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether the closing line of Hinojosa's September 9 "Pronouns" ad — "My pronouns are Mom, Texan, and soon to be: Governor" — mocked transgender Texans; that line is the fixed reference point, not Abbott's attacks on her record. Lemmons grants the criticism and then subordinates it, setting the ad against what she says Abbott intends and urging voters not to be diverted by it. That is acknowledging a concern while substantively downplaying its weight. The closest competing label is condemns, since she does call the ad a bad move that ignored transgender Texans' reality. That loses because the operative argument of the passage, and of the post's title, is that the criticism should not carry weight against Abbott's record. mixed_or_conditional loses because she offers no positive assessment of the ad and states no unresolved condition.
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- People and groups discussed
- Gina Hinojosa
Did Gina Hinojosa’s “Pronouns” ad mock transgender Texans?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, spawned an online backlash from some lefty trans posters by appearing to mock pronouns. "My pronouns are mom, Texan and soon-to-be governor," she says in a recent campaign video posted to YouTube. When I made a post on Bluesky pointing out that none of those words are pronouns, and implied that it was wrong to mock trans people's pronouns with this style of joke, a bunch of Bluesky liberals took umbrage.”Read statement
“Republicans are using people like me and my friends as a wedge issue to distract from their own failings - on that much, I agree with Hinojosa. But it's really easy for commentary about that problem to descend into complete apathy about trans issues. I'm unsure what 'my pronouns are mom, Texan, and soon-to-be Governor' is supposed to communicate. And I don't think actual swing voters will get it, either.”Read statement
Gina Hinojosa for Texas
“Culture wars are over in 2026. 99.9% of us lost, and corporates power won. While we fought each other at Thanksgiving, 15 billionaire tech dudes won; they amassed power and now they are about to blow up the planet if we don't come back together to save ourselves.”Read statement