The path that brought us here.
Is this your brand on Milled? Claim it.
These next few months are going to decide the outcome of November’s elections and the balance of power in our country. As we ramp up our engagement on campuses, at political rallies and other places young people will be gathering in order to help turn their energy and emotion into action and votes, I want to take a minute to describe the path that brought us here.
A year ago, Powered by People led in Texas and across the country to bring attention and resources to the fight against Trump’s attempt to steal 5 Congressional seats. We rallied public support behind the Democratic legislators who left the state to successfully deny Republicans the quorum they needed in their first special session, and while ultimately Abbott rigged the new maps, we were able to push Democrats across the country to respond.
That meant that California stepped up to meet Texas’ five new gerrymandered districts by redrawing five of their own. And it meant that we could draw in national support to help Texas Democrats fight to win in the new districts.
While we were successful, it came at significant cost. The Texas Attorney General tried to jail me, sued me personally and sought to put Powered by People out of business, all for fighting for our right to free and fair elections. While it cost us more than $500,000 to defend ourselves (so far), we have won at both the district and appeals courts and have proven that you don’t have to bend the knee to the thugs in power.
In fact, as Paxton issued his threats and lawsuits, we traveled the state, helped host organizing rallies, and personally called prospective candidates to get a Democrat to run in every single State House, State Senate and U.S. Congressional seat in Texas for the first time in 50 years. That means a fighter on every front in every part of the state.
At the beginning of 2026, we worked a special election in Tarrant County that had outsized implications for the country — helping Taylor Rehmet defeat his Republican opponent for State Senate by 17 points, contributing to a 31-point swing in what was thought to be a reliably Trump district.
We also partnered with the Texas Democratic Party to ensure that voting by mail — under heavy attack by Trump and Republicans — could be used by Democrats who were unlikely to vote without this important tool.
We had our most successful college organizing effort of the year over the spring semester, meeting tens of thousands of college students in person, helping them to get registered, to stay in touch with them and ensure they turn out to vote.
And on top of all of this, we have begun to partner with the Talarico for Senate campaign to do the same at all of his rallies, ensuring that every single young person in attendance is ready to vote and has a partner in our Powered by People volunteers to make sure they do.
One year in — and less than 75 days to go — I am grateful for the work we’ve put in together, for the opportunities we’ve created and for the chance we now have to win Texas.
Thank you for making this possible,
Beto
