friend,

Last weekend, the Republican Party of Texas hosted its bi-annual Convention -- and let me tell you, it was quite a gathering.

Over the days that they met, Texas Republicans took over Houston with what can only be described as a clown carnival of extremism featuring all the greatest hits: draconian abortion stances, rampant racism, explicit transphobia and homophobia -- and special new numbers, like bashing Buzz Lightyear, drag queens, and Secretary Buttigieg’s paternity leave.

They rejected the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election and called for the repeal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. They called for our teachers to preach their anti-choice gospel in schools to children, while simultaneously damning public education. They booed their own Republican Senator John Cornyn for his attempts to find bipartisan solutions to gun violence. And they called homosexuality an “abnormal lifestyle choice”.

And at the center of all of this? Matt Rinaldi, Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. I know Matt pretty well because I crushed him by 13+ points to become elected into the Texas House of Representatives in 2018. So you can trust me when I say: I know what dirty tricks to expect.

friend, as one of your first LGBT Convention Chairs, I can only describe the Texas Republicans’ platform as vile and insulting. The Texas GOP is filled with insurrectionists and bullies like Matt -– who, after getting his ass kicked in our race in 2018, miraculously failed upwards into a job he clearly needed.

In about 3 weeks, Texas Democrats from all over the state will gather in Dallas for our own Convention -- putting in the hours to pass our own platform, provide necessary training to folks on the ground, and organize in our communities. We’re doing all of this to gear up for the November 2022 elections, where we’ll elect people like Beto O’Rourke, Mike Collier, Rochelle Garza, and Jay Kleberg to statewide office.

friend, let me tell you: I know how to go toe-to-toe with Matt Rinaldi and win. But we’re being outspent by Republicans in this state, and we need your help to ensure that our work reaches voters all across our 254 counties.

So I’m asking: can you contribute $7 today to support our Texas Democratic Convention, so we can push back against the GOP’s extreme and harmful ideology?

I appreciate your support of the important work Texas Democrats are doing, and I hope I’ll see you in Dallas on July 14-16.

Thanks,

Julie Johnson
State Representative