The strategy and numbers outlined here by this group are not just impressive. They are doable!
The Voters Democrats Say Are Crucial to Flipping Texas
Young people who are unregistered or do not vote consistently are the focus of an ambitious new push to turn Texas blue, a long-elusive goal for Democrats.
HOUSTON — Cristina Tzintzún-Ramirez is convinced she knows the secret to turning Texas blue.
Young people.
When she applied to lead NextGen America, a liberal group backed by the billionaire and former presidential candidate Tom Steyer, she made two things clear. She was not leaving Austin, and the organization would have to spend time and money in Texas.
And she was focused on a magic number: 631,000 votes. That was the margin of victory for Republicans in the state in 2020.
Now, NextGen is targeting nearly 2 million voters in Texas: 1.1 million voters between the ages of 18 and 30 who are registered to vote but have not cast ballots consistently in recent elections; another 277,000 young voters who did not vote in 2020; and 565,000 people they have identified as “young progressives” who are unregistered.
If just a third of the total turns out to vote — roughly 633,000 people — it would be enough for Democrats to overcome the Republican margin.
I’ve never been to Texas. But these numbers sound realistic to me. With the midterms coming up next year, the goal seems plausible. And depending on who the Democratic nominee for Governor could end up being (Ideally, Beto O’Rourke—though I could live with Matthew McConaughey), we could have potentially have a recordbreaking year for turnout in Texas among voters under 30.
If this plan for young voter turnout succeeds? The dream of turning Texas blue or at least purple could conceivably happen as early as next year.
Rafael Anchia, a Democratic state lawmaker from Dallas who is the chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, said Mr. O’Rourke’s campaign was the only statewide Democratic effort in recent memory with a large enough budget to reach across the state. Mr. Anchia said that like other Texas Democrats, he has made the case to national funders that the state could be competitive.
“No longer is Texas considered this fool’s gold,” he said. “It has demographics similar to California’s but has been a low-turnout, low-voting state.”
There have been many articles and diaries here written about how to turn Texas purple or blue. But the NextGen sounds like if they can get money from Tom Steyer and from Democrats like us? My impression from reading this is that the possibility isn’t completely off the table.
And here is a link to the organization’s website…
Yes. We. Can!
