A Republican former state representative who graduated from Texas A&M will help lead Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa's transition into office.
Hinojosa, a Democrat, named Ernest Bailes of Shepherd a co-chair of what she calls her "By and For the People" transition team during a Thursday, Nov. 5 news conference, her first since winning Tuesday's election. Results remain unofficial until they are canvassed.
"We will have a bipartisan transition, and we will have a bipartisan administration and government in Texas," Hinojosa said, according to her announcement.
Who Bailes is
Bailes, a Republican, represented House District 18 for four terms, from January 2017 to January 2025, according to the Texas Legislative Reference Library. The district covered Liberty, San Jacinto and Walker counties for most of that time and Hardin, Liberty, Montgomery and San Jacinto counties in his final term.
The transition announcement describes him as a rancher and fifth-generation East Texan raised in Shepherd, where his family ran dairy and beef cattle. He graduated from Texas A&M in 2004 with a bachelor of science degree. According to the announcement, he founded Repro Select, which sells reproductive services to cattle and whitetail deer producers, and in 2025 launched EB4 Construction.
Bailes opposed Gov. Greg Abbott's private school voucher plan and lost the 2024 Republican primary after Abbott backed his opponent, Janis Holt of Silsbee, now a state representative, The Texas Tribune reported. In 2023, he was among House Republicans who sided with Democrats to block the voucher plan, an effort Hinojosa helped lead, the Tribune reported.
Hinojosa called Bailes "one of my best allies for public schools," KBTX reported.
"We will put partisanship aside," Bailes told reporters Thursday, according to the Tribune. "We will work together for what is best for the kids of the state of Texas."
