Jessica Lemmons
Role at the time: Texas writer, in her independently published Substack newsletter
Statement summary
In a newsletter post titled "Stay on target, Texas voters," Texas writer Jessica Lemmons wrote that she had seen the "my pronouns are" ad and agreed it was a bad move that did not account for the reality transgender Texans face, while arguing that Abbott wants to erase transgender people altogether and that voters should keep their attention on his record.
“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.”
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.
Why we used 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.