USA Today
Texas might be a red state now, but the Lone Star State is turning blue right before our eyes
Chris Chu de León – February 8, 2022
Deep in the heart of Texas – somewhere between the starry desert nights of El Paso and the blooming sage of Beaumont – is the steady beat of profound contradictions.
Despite the fact that people of color made up 95% of the population growth in the past decade, the state’s halls of power remain almost exclusively in the hands of old, white male lawmakers. Although Texas is on the cusp of turning blue, these same lawmakers banned abortion after about six weeks and restricted voting rights, culminating in possibly the most conservative legislative session in a generation.
As a result, Texas might seem like a lost cause to Democrats across the nation. There has never been a more urgent moment, however, for Democrats to organize and fight for transformative change in the Lone Star State.
Importantly, the majority of Texans oppose recent conservative priorities. Just 32% of Texans want to make abortion laws stricter, yet Republicans banned up to 90% of abortions, primarily affecting women of color. Only 19% of Texas voters believe there is frequent voter fraud, yet lawmakers cemented Texas’ status as the hardest place to vote in the country by restricting early voting options and empowering partisan poll watchers.
Not only are these laws antithetical to the popular will of constituents, they also disproportionately harm people of color like my family.
Reasons for hope in Texas politics
I was born in Houston to immigrants from Hong Kong and Mexico. Despite improbable journeys across two countries distant shores away, my parents collectively believed – they collectively hoped – that America’s Lone Star State would give them and their future children a shot at success.
We settled down in southwest Houston – a community filled with signs written in Chinese characters, the rhythmic sizzle of al pastor on the grills of dueling taco trucks, and the low vibration of chopped and screwed bass pulsing from car speakers. Our house was steeped in the melodic hum of Spanish, Cantonese and English, hushed only by the sound of the front door slamming as my parents shuffled out for work. My dad would often come home from work shortly before my mom headed out for her late-night shift as a nurse.
They worked, tirelessly, so my brother and I could have opportunities they never had. My work as a community organizer in Texas, a soldier and a graduate student at Harvard are just as much their achievements as they are mine.
Texas opened doors for my family, but Republicans who hold all statewide offices and both U.S. Senate seats are now trying to slam the door shut, lock it and throw away the key. Through gerrymandering, they reduced the number of majority-Black and Latino congressional districts and split up Asian communities – significantly diluting political power for the Texans of color who have driven population growth.
There is, however, reason to be hopeful. Reason to keep organizing, knocking doors, making phone calls, sending texts and persuading Texans from every corner of the state to vote. Reason to act now, else risk losing generations of progress made in enfranchising Black and brown communities.
Democrats, who have been advocating for expanding voter access and reproductive health, have made significant gains in Texas. In 2018, with Beto O’Rourke, Democratic performance improved by 13.9 percentage points from the previous midterm. In 2020, Democrats improved their margin by 3.3 percentage points from 2016.
While Texas Democrats still face daunting historical odds – having not carried the state in a presidential election since 1976 or won statewide since 1994 – parallels can be drawn to Arizona, another border state where Republicans’ hold has eroded.
Before 2020, Arizona had voted Democratic only once in a presidential election since 1948 and Democrats had not occupied both U.S. Senate seats since 1952. These changes were catalyzed by a diversifying electorate similar to Texas and aggressive investment in organizing to reach young voters and voters of color.
America’s future is in Texas
As the progressive wing of the party ascends nationally, everyday Texans are moving in lockstep. The state was fewer than 5 percentage points away from picking Bernie Sanders as its 2020 Democratic presidential nominee. Following the primary, the Texas Democratic Party adopted the most progressive platform in state history, including planks of Sanders’ most transformative policies like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal.
Moreover, the stakes are too high to lose faith. Texas’ 40 electoral votes are on the table. To put the state’s seismic political weight into perspective, based on the current electoral map, Democrats could lose Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – and still take the White House if they won Texas.
America’s future is Texas. The state’s rapid diversification and leftward lurch in politics are emblematic of broader trends across the nation, which could end up looking like Texas sooner rather than later. The people in power, however, would rather not have you know that.
But the Texas I know is Black and brown, with more than 50% of the state’s population being Black, Latino or Asian.
The Texas I know is young, with nearly half of the state being younger than 35.
The Texas I know is worth fighting for.
Chris Chu de León is a native Texan and community organizer. He is a graduate student at Harvard University, where he’ll commission as a U.S. Army officer.