Jimmy Carter was the last Democrat winning Texas back in the 1976 presidential elections. Since then, it has emerged as a stronghold of Republicans, just like Georgia, which eventually turned blue through decades of hard work and activism.
The political activism in the United States has entered a new phase in the previous election campaigns, and Biden’s victory is indebted to these political activists in one form or another.
The emergence of Michelle Tremillo and Brianna Brown in the political spectrum of Texas has lit the hopes of Democrats, as they can hope to see Texas a blue state once again.
Political organizations such as Texas Organizing Project are the ray of hope for Democrats in the dark times that can turn the odds in favor of the Democrats.
With the untiring efforts of Michelle Tremillio and Brianna Brown, Texas can be the next Georgia which was snatched by Democrats this time.
The motivating thing for all of these political activists is that Texas resembles Georgia in many ways, considering the political landscape.
For instance, Georgia has a major population of suppressed Black Americans voters, mostly inclined towards Democrats, for whom Stacey Abrams strived to bring into the mainstream. In Texas, Latino voters form a significant minority group and are critically anti-Republican, if not strictly Democrats.
In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden lost the state of Texas by a mere margin of six percentage points. However, 4.5 million eligible voters of color did not cast their votes in the 2020 presidential election, according to data from Exit Poll and Census Data.
With these things healing up in the upcoming years, Texas could soon become a blue state, adding 38 electoral college votes to the tally of Democrats.
How are Michelle Tremillo and Brianna Brown playing their part in flipping Texas to assist Democrats in winning the all-important electoral votes? Let’s have a look.
Michelle Tremillo and Brianna Brown: People on a Mission to Turn Texas Blue
Michelle Tremillo is a fourth-generation Texan who is working to change the politics of Texas in places like Harris County. Her dream is to make Texas a place where black and Latino communities could prosper and integrate with the majorities.
She is the executive director of the Texas Organizing Project and uses the platform to engage infrequent voters, who are primarily women and people of color.
Brianna Brown is also a fourth-generation Texan and the Deputy Director of the Texas Organizing Project. She wants to see a reflective democracy in Texas where every individual will have his rights, regardless of race, sex, color, or political affiliation.
Her dream is to see people of color playing leadership roles in Texas and to see a woman of color as the Texas governor.
These two community leaders resemble Stacey Abrams of Georgia in many aspects. Like Abrams, the vision of Brown and Tremillo is not for themselves but the cause.
They focus on doing the work rather than building their political profiles, and the Texas Organizing Project is a relentless and effective civic engagement machinery in this regard.
Texas: Another Georgia in Making
In 2008 Barack Obama lost Georgia by a significant margin as 1 million people of color were devoid of their right to vote through voter suppression. Twelve years later, Joe Biden won the state, and all credit goes to the political activists of the state.
Joe Biden lost Texas with nearly a six-point margin, while 4.5 million eligible voters did not cast their votes.
Texas is the second-largest state with respect to the non-voting eligible voters. The estimate of potential voters of color exceeds the winning margin of Donald Trump. Texas holds a huge untapped potential, which is urging Republicans to suppress voters of color.
Flipping a state requires ambitious leaders like Michelle Tremillo, the executive director, and Brianna Brown, the deputy director of the Texas Organizing Project.
Fifty-three percent of Mexican Americans and African Americans live in Texas, but a majority of this population is devoid of their right to vote. This population potential could be turned into political power with the help of community-based, disciplined organizations, and which is what the Texas Organizing Project is doing.
Texas Organizing Project: A Relentless Effort to Uplift Voters
Founded in 2009, the Texas Organizing Project is a membership-based organization. The main aim of this organization is to gather Black and Latino communities under one flag to transform Texas into a state where every person can get equal opportunities and political power they deserve.
The organization has more than 285,000 members and supporters who carry out various community-based activities.
It also helps train people of color to develop their leadership skills and to struggle for a positive change using these skills. It focuses on introducing effective and creative ways to carry the message to the people and create awareness among them.
The Texas Organizing Project isn’t just playing an important role in the electoral process but also increasing Black voters’ participation in the elections.
The aim is to mobilize and bring together the Latino and Black communities of Texas so that they could struggle for real change in the state.
In the 2020 presidential election, the organization helped to increase voter turnout by turning out 310,000 voters of color who had not used their right to vote in 2016.
Voter registration and mobilization efforts have played a significant role in Democratic victories in the mayoral elections of Houston and San Antonio.
It has helped to elect progressive attorneys in five counties. In Harris County, Democrats were victorious after 1.2 million door-to-door visits and phone calls. Not only this, but the Texas Organizing Project also arranged almost 2,500 rides to the polls.
The organization has also channeled its energy in other issues such as criminal justice. In the Dallas area, about 64 percent of people who are in county jails are not able to afford the bond or are on pretrial detention.
The organization joined a lawsuit arguing that the county’s bail practice is unjust.
In Public School Funding, the Texas Organizing Project had a lot of conservations with people about the importance of fully-funded schools.
It helped elect a school board member who supported putting tax ratification on the ballot. Recently, voters approved Dallas ISD’s Proposition C with a huge margin.
In a Nutshell
The flipping of Texas would be a big win for Democrats, as it would lessen the worries of Democrats in every presidential election to a great extent.
Under the leadership of Michelle Tremillo and Brianna Brown, the Texas Organizing Project is preparing the grounds for a Democratic win in Texas. If Texas turns blue anytime soon, it would be due to the efforts of these stalwarts.
It is time for Democrats to recognize the potential in the political activism movements and to extend official support to them if they want to make their footprints in the red states.
The mere budget of $5 million of the Texas Organizing Project decries attention as Democrats need to spend on these machineries for a better and prosperous America.
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Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.