In November of 2022, I voted in a general election for the first time ever. I cast my ballot for Beto O’Rourke, hoping he’d be able to beat Governor Greg Abbott. On election night, I found myself experiencing the heart ache of my first real loss in politics– one that felt deeply personal.

I was angry. I was also very young– and a bit naive. Beto was the first candidate I’d ever been really inspired by, the first one who I had met and spoke to. I felt like I was part of a movement–which obviously didn’t turn out how we had hoped, but that election loss taught me a number of lessons about how I should approach politics in the coming years.

I took to social media, declaring my anger at the Texas Democratic Party– demanding that the chairman Gilberto Hinijosa resign. The posts began to move. Soon I had members of the TDP’s governing board, the State Democratic Executive Committee, calling me. They sent texts, left voicemails addressing some of my concerns, and assured me that they understood where I was coming from. I didn’t respond to any of them other than to say If the chairman wanted to talk to me, he could call me himself.

How arrogant could I be? I thought after just one summer brushing up on Texas politics that I knew better than people who had been involved for most, if not all, of my life!

https://oliviajulianna.substack.com/p/why-texas-hasnt-flipped-blue?utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true&fbclid=IwY2xjawIPZFVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHbWcEMdIaK3Wn5R8EZa83p14WqgkMa5PeFZ2g4tM2Jy-lM5UceDQH4GZKg_aem_ADZ_wD2o_ohwGpooMhBRHA