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A thread on TX. To see TX change requires long term investment. As quick background, I grew up here, and am here now. Since I came here after @PeteButtigieg campaign, people have not taken seriously. Many think TX keeps failing. Let me give a different perspective.
2/ TX has been changing. Major city mayors, county judges, local judges, sheriffs, etc. While @BetoORourke did not win the senate, he carried many people to victory -- Harris County, Ft. Bend County and other state races.
3/ After 2018, people locally organized, including the TX Democratic party. In 2020, we have run some incredible candidates for the State House and for Congress, many of them women of color. Even if everyone does not win, they are challenging races we have never challenged.
4/ We might even win our Railroad Commissioner (Chrysta Castenada), which controls our environment for the State. We are competing for judges, sheriffs and constables -- many of them also people of color. We are competing, we are running and we are organizing.
5/ If we win, it will be because of local organizing. Beto and Powered by the People have done an incredible job cleaning up the voter rolls. Just today they made 1 million calls in TX. Imagine that. -- 1 million calls in TX just today.
6/ They See Blue, SAAVE TX, Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, Muslim Americans, South Asians, Indian Americans, Latinos, African Americans, Churches, Youth Groups, Everytown, and many local leaders. This has been a truly local effort.
7/ Let me add that the Asian American vote -- this vote is likely going to help us win many of these seats in TX. The Asian American community has already had over 420,000 votes in TX, we are working to get out 143,000 registered Dems tomorrow. THIS IS HISTORIC.
8/ The organizing work by Amit Jani, Karim Farishta, Vaibhav Jain, Linh Nguyen and countless others have been amazing. This has been a labor of love with volunteers, committed workers and it is intergenerational. The AAPI community has been discounted for way too long.
9/ Do not see this election as a winner take all. See this election as a sleeping giant is awake. Because of the lack of investment in TX over the years - we are still building the infrastructure, investing in the data, attracting the talent and growing.
10/ Invest in the long term of TX (not just during presidential cycles). Here are 5 investments:
11/ Invest in the infrastructure and in community engagement. These communities are not going to stay progressive if we do not engage them in between elections. Many have never been touched in between and are getting their information from junk because we have not engaged them.
12/ Invest in data collection. We need better data (not just on voting), but on the diversity of the communities and the issues they actually care about, e.g healthcare, economy, jobs, infrastructure. Please stop typecasting them.
13/ Run more people. There is incredible talent. Orgs like Arena Academy, Annie List and others have done a great job of cultivating and investing in talent. Help them grow, provide technical assistance. We need new leadership in Texas and it needs to be at EVERY level.
14/ Invest locally in TX, not just national organizations. In fact, it is the local organizations that have made this happen. While national organizations are good, they are not enough in Texas. It needs people closer to the community.
15/ Invest in civics education. This is one of the most important things we can do nationally. We need civics.
16/ DO NOT give up on Texas. This community has grown, they have organized, they have mobilized. All of this through constant and relentless voter suppression. It is an investment that is worth making. In two years -- we can vote out this governor. We can win in TX. BELIEVE.
