Team,

It’s a glorious day in Austin, blue sky, the air is crisp and clear, and we’re inside at home, as we have been for most of this year. In the last few weeks, I've been decompressing, taking stock, analyzing, resting, and ticking off my things-to-do list that I haven’t given my attention to during the better part of three and a half years of campaigning; it feels really good to check that list off.

While the results in Texas were disappointing, I remind myself that Texas Democrats have only been organizing seriously for two (maybe three) election cycles. The Trump era rallied many of us to shake off our apathy, get out of our comfort zones, and start organizing. Republicans, on the other hand, have been doing this work for 40 years. So while I'm sad that we didn't pick up seats at the state or federal level, I'm grateful we held onto the seats we gained in 2018. Compared to 2016, we made incredible strides. More than ever, I feel the resolve to get back up and fight because our state and our country are worth fighting for. In the aftermath of the election, we've seen that Trump and Congressional Republican enablers have no regard for our Constitution or our people -- and we will have no choice but to fight for this country and for one another.

We’ve been waiting on official results to really make sense of the data -- since this campaign belongs to you, the people who made it possible, we want to make sure that we put that post-mortem analysis into your hands -- but I’ll be honest with you -- thinking about the losses in Texas hurts. It’s made so much more painful knowing how many of our fellow Texans are suffering right now and that our current Congressional representative doesn’t mind us going hungry, getting sick, or dying alone while the country is facing a Great Depression. There are many questions to answer, and we can’t make strong conclusions until we have the official, person-level records and precinct-level results back from the Secretary of State. There are many people that we need to continue to listen to with humility and grace, to understand what happened and how we can do better.

I miss our team and our volunteers. The final margin doesn’t reflect the strength of the campaign we built, the race we ran, or what we achieved -- running as hard as we could, without corporations or PACs, with honesty and integrity, and bringing joy to a process that for too long has been taken over by bad faith actors intent on keeping all of us divided while they enrich themselves.

Before the year ends, I wanted to write to you and let you know how thankful I am to have been a part of this with you. Over the course of this campaign, volunteers and supporters were responsible for the following:

• We built a formidable, youth-led grassroots organizing movement, with over 3,000 individual volunteers serving over 11,000 shifts, making calls, knocking doors, and doing the work of showing up for one another at a time when our democracy has never been more imperiled.

• We mobilized our entire campaign to be a COVID-19 resource for the community, providing direct outreach, collecting PPE, sharing food and housing resources, and providing mutual aid support to thousands of Texans affected by the pandemic.

• We showed that it is possible to run a Congressional campaign with transparency and integrity, raising $2.2 million without taking a single dime from any PACs, from over 46,000 contributions from people who believed in the idea that we can change the way we do politics in this country.

• We poured the financial resources we raised into contacting Texas voters -- sent 1.3 million texts, made over 500,000 phone calls, knocked on 100,000 doors before the pandemic and dropped literature at 100,000 more, sent targeted mail to 80,000 harder-to-reach Texans, and served millions of impressions in targeted digital ads. 

• We invested in Texas for the long term, helping register 10s of 1000s of new voters and garnering the highest Democratic turnout in the current district’s history
   

I don’t know what’s next for me. For my part, I know there are a thousand things I could have done or said differently, but I know that I gave it my all. Because the people our government has forgotten about deserve nothing less.

Finally, I know that this year has been trying for so many of us -- with many of us losing jobs, some of us losing our homes and even family members succumbing to this terrible pandemic.

For those of you who are able to give, please join me in supporting the Hope Food Pantry.

I will always be grateful to all of you who contributed and made this work possible. It is your commitment that strengthens my resolve and belief in what’s possible. And for that, I thank you.

With much love and gratitude,

Julie

P.S. Here are a few organizations I hope you’ll support for the good work they’re doing in the social justice and political space.

DivInc - I volunteer by serving on the board of this not-for-profit whose mission is bridging the gap between underrepresented entrepreneurs and the resources they need to build high impact organizations. 2020 was a pivotal year in racial and social justice and equity, and DivInc not only helps underrepresented entrepreneurs, they offer programs to other organizations to assist them in eradicating systemic racism in criminal justice, healthcare, education, voting, or housing. To contribute, click here.

Common Defense - In my run, I was endorsed by Common Defense, the largest grassroots group of progressive veterans in the country. Common Defense supported me because we share a common vision for what our country can be. Now, they need your help as they continue to fight for a progressive future. They organized and worked to train and mobilize thousands of progressive veterans. And their work paid off; this year, veterans swung from President Trump by over 16 percent from 2016. To donate, click here. And if you’re a veteran and you’re interested in joining Common Defense, click here to get involved.

Vote Mama - Women, and particularly moms of young children, face unique challenges when running for office. Especially in those critical early months, moms face increased scrutiny from donors, establishment institutions, and the public. To contribute, click here.

Black, Latino and AAPI grassroots organizations in Georgia -- The balance of the US Senate hangs in the balance, and it's important to support the grassroots organizations in Georgia that know their turf, know their people, and know what they need. We've put all the information you need to support Black, Latino and AAPI grassroots organizations on the ground in Georgia at julieoliver.org/georgia

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