Progressives and Democrats around Texas had their hopes dashed on election night as the state went for President Donald Trump. The largest GOP prize in the nation has long been the white whale for Democrats, who fantasize about flipping it blue on the back of a changing demographic and urbanizing population.
Maybe next time. But that’s not stopping progressive groups in the state from organizing for 2021 and beyond—2022 brings a gubernatorial race and the congressional midterms.
Here are five groups to watch in Texas as the state continues slowly tilting a little blue.
Progress Texas
A nonprofit media institution with an eye on spreading the word about left policy priorities and goals to Texans between the ages of 25 and 49, Progress Texas uses its reach through campaigning and the research and training done by its 501(c)(3), the Texas Progress Institute, to effect change in the Lone Star State.
An impact statement from 2019 claims the group generated $10.8 million in earned media, part of a push that involved 1,112 news stories and 10.5 million social media impressions.
Progress Texas is a 501(c)(4), allowing for more leeway with respect to lobbying and other political activities.
Both groups take in decent funding; Texas Progress reported an operating budget of $264,258 in 2018 (that led to a deficit of $76,814) but the Institute more than made up for it that year, taking in $420,835 from the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and $100,000 from the Ford Foundation as part of its $1,369,104 in total revenue.
With an eye on the state’s future in the coming year, Progress Texas intends to stay involved in spreading the word about its progressive goals for the state.
Jolt Action
A group aimed at forwarding the goals of Texas’s 11-million-strong Latino community, Jolt Action prioritizes a nonpartisan approach to politics.
The group, which was founded in 2016, organizes Latino communities around the state to exercise their voting power and advocate for their interests. In 2020, Jolt Action played a major role in turning out the Latino vote around Texas.
Jolt has been raising money from big funders to get that work done. In 2019, Jolt took in $100,000 from the Libra Foundation to complement a war chest filled in 2018 by the NoVo Foundation for $2,000,000 and the Nathan Cummings Foundation for $100,000.
“Texas and our democracy are stronger,” the group says, “when everyone has a seat at the table and when our voices and families are treated with equality and respect.”
MOVE Texas
Founded in 2013 at the University of Texas at San Antonio, MOVE Texas—the acronym stands for Mobilize. Organize. Vote. Empower.—advocates for underrepresented youth in the state.
With chapters in San Antonio, Laredo, Seguin, San Marcos, Austin, Houston and Dallas, MOVE aims to help youth through civic and leadership education. The group is part of the Alliance for Youth Organizing, a nationwide Washington, D.C.-headquartered network that brings groups from around the country together to develop their political power.
MOVE Texas has developed voter rights programs, fought against utility companies and pushed back against anti-Black policing measures. Expect to hear from them in Texas.
Powered by People
Powered by People, a voting rights advocacy group founded by former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, had hoped to spark a turn to the left in the Lone Star State in 2020. That didn’t happen, but the work goes on. Founded in December 2019 after O’Rourke’s presidential campaign floundered and he dropped out, the group has made turning out Texas voters a top priority.
The numbers it reports indicate why Powered by People is now referred to as an “organizing powerhouse.” According to O’Rourke, the group made 57.8 million texts and 18.3 million calls to Texas voters, helped register around 200,000 voters in the state, and flooded Texas with over 10,000 volunteers to knock doors. Powered by People also raised $2,034,165 for Texas Democrats and organizers and filled more than 17,000 hours at food banks in the state. (Read our past coverage of Power by People.)
The group’s plans for 2021 are not clear, but the raw power of the volunteering Powered by People untapped in Texas is sure to make it a player in state politics.
Texas Organizing Project
The Texas Organizing Project works across Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties to bring together Black and brown communities in service of progressive change. In 2020, the group propelled voter turnout via get-out-the-vote tactics that ranged from registration to addressing inequities in the system at the state legislative level. (Read our past coverage of TOP.)
With over 285,000 members and supporters, TOP has a strong and enduring presence in Texas.
Founded in 2009, TOP had an operating budget of $3,294,050 in 2018. The group received $3 million in 2019 from the SiliconValley Community Foundation in 2019, as well as grants of $200,000 each from the Robert Wood Johnson and Libra Foundations.
In 2018, TOP took in $500,000 from both the Texas Women’s Foundation and the Episcopal Health Foundation, $223,000 from the New Venture Fund, $187,500 from the Marguerite Casey Foundation, $150,000 from the Surdna Foundation and $100,000 from both the Center for Community Change and the Libra Foundation.
