Victor Hernandez was born in the Chamizal area of El Paso, Texas. Once the area was bought by the federal government to build the Chamizal National Monument, his family moved the the Lower Valley of El Paso, Texas. While in high school, he was part of the ROTC. Hernandez was salsa part of the ROTC at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he graduated from. Hernandez then went to law school at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He stayed in Lubbock and served in the National Guard—with which he served in Operation Desert Storm. Upon his return to Lubbock, Hernandez practiced law and ran for City Council. Hernandez served several terms as a city council member and ran for mayor in 2016, a race he lost.