Rivals pile on Beshear over his resistance to Latinos' push for Texas funds

Kentucky Gov.

Andy Beshear is in open war with prominent Latino lawmakers, and his potential 2028 rivals for president are taking advantage.

Beshear, as head of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), has resisted pressure from Latino leaders to invest heavily in Gina Hinojosa 's campaign for Texas governor, opting to focus on races in other states.

In response, Illinois Gov.

JB Pritzker, California Gov.

Gavin Newsom and Maryland Gov.

Wes Moore have given money to Hinojosa's bid to unseat Texas Gov.

Greg Abbott (R) — and earned praise from Latino lawmakers.

Why it matters: The back-and-forth amounts to one of the first fights of the 2028 Democratic primary, against the backdrop of the party's desperation to reverse the GOP's recent gains among Latino voters.

Latino leaders are trying to flex their political muscle, fueled in part by Democrats' new primary schedule, which has Nevada and New Mexico — and their large Latino populations — the second and fourth states to vote in the nominating contest.

Driving the news: In recent weeks Latino leaders have gone public in their pressure campaign to push Beshear to invest $10 million in Texas, as polls have shown Hinojosa ahead or within the polls' margin of error.

Beshear, mindful of how expensive it is to campaign statewide in Texas and the DGA's limited resources, resisted and instead focused the committee's resources on governor's races in critical states like Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Ohio.

Pritzker, a potential 2028 rival to Beshear who already had donated $200,000 to Hinojosa's campaign, then publicly announced he was donating an additional $1 million to Hinojosa.

That won the Illinois governor, a billionaire who has strategically spread some of his personal wealth across the party, some fans.