Dear John,
There is no rest for those who want to win.
That’s why, fresh on the heels of the stunning special election victory in Tarrant County, we have been traveling across Texas to raise and organize volunteers, register and stay in touch with young voters and beat the drum to ensure that we’re all responding with the urgency and action that this moment demands.
We are staying on offense, pressing the attack.
Monday, I traveled to Texas State in San Marcos. For more than seven hours, we worked with students on the campus, adding more than 400 people to our relational organizing program after first helping them get registered. The energy on this campus is always positive, with many students signing up to join us as volunteers as well.
Tuesday, I was in San Antonio at UTSA where I joined an impromptu debate on the best path forward in the midst of a massive ICE protest. While some were encouraging violence and “burning down the system” including elections and voting, I made the case for peaceful, nonviolent power—like registering, voting, volunteering, protesting, and civil disobedience. Much like our day in San Marcos, we spent over six hours registering and helping students join our relational organizing program.
I also got the chance to see Juan, a young man that I’d met seven years ago when he performed at a tribute for the Walmart massacre victims at El Dorado in El Paso. He’s now a successful student at UTSA, making El Paso and Texas proud.
Wednesday, I drove a few hours north to Waco where I helped our volunteers there register and stay in touch with students at the McLennan Community College. A much smaller campus than the previous two days, the slower traffic allowed for longer conversations and more opportunities to train our organizers and new volunteers.
That night we held a town hall meeting at Waco High in their new performing arts center. More than 300 people came out for a discussion on how we get from where we are to where we want to be. Many signed up afterwards to volunteer going forward. My iPhone reminded me that the first time I spoke at a public meeting in Waco was exactly nine years ago, on February 4, 2017. I’ve been coming here for a long time—it’s how we ensure that winning in Tarrant County, another supposedly reliably red county, is not a fluke. You show up, do the work, get people out to vote and win elections. We can win in Waco.
Thursday, I flew back to El Paso and met up with our organizers and volunteers on the University of Texas at El Paso campus, again registering and signing up new voters to ensure that we help them turn out in the most important midterms of our lives.
This is the work that works. The young voters in our program in 2024 voted at a rate of over 79%, compared to the state average of 37%. Meeting people in person, helping them with their registration and the questions they have around voting and then prompting them to vote come election time makes a huge difference.
That’s why we do what we do and why I’m so grateful for those who make it possible.
Please consider donating now to keep me and this amazing team on the road and on the attack.
Thank you,
Beto
