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 media clout to effect change in the Lone Star State. 

They fell short in 2020, as Executive Director Ed Espinoza told The Hill. “I remember sitting [in] the office, putting my hands on my temples and saying, ‘what the fuck is happening?’” said Espinoza.

Progress Texas fights through communications. 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. 

2020 by the numbers

The group is used to an uphill struggle in the Lone Star State for Democrats and progressive causes—and sees signs of positive change on the way—Biden got closer to beating the Republican than any Democrat in a generation and the turnout was staggering across the state. 

Still, said Espinoza, GOP numbers in rural counties show the state has a long way to go to flip blue—at least at the national level. “Houston, Harris County, delivered 545,000 votes to Republicans in 2016 and 700,000 votes in 2020,” said Espinoza. “I did not think they could get beyond 600,000 on a good day, and they added 150,000 there.”

At the state level, Texas Democrats were able to cut into the GOP supermajorities in the legislature. Progress Texas’ Wesley Story told CBS Austin that he sees that as an encouraging sign. “Republicans in the Senate losing that supermajority is a huge deal for Democrats, and it gives progressives a lot more power in the legislature, potentially to block bad bills,” said Story.

Among the reforms the group is pursuing is an expansion of voting rights and the remote voting changes put in place because of the pandemic. Those changes have opened the door to higher voter participation, senior strategist Glenn Smith wrote on November 16.

“It would appear that the pandemic forced innovations that otherwise might have been overlooked or disallowed,” wrote Smith. “Old habits die hard, though. And while we made voting easier, we have not made it easy enough. That should change.”

Two groups with one purpose

In addition to its political and policy lobbying, the group uses the research and training done by its 501(c)(3), the Texas Progress Institute, to work toward a more progressive state. The institute’s work is focused primarily on straight research and nonpartisan policy advocacy—Progress Texas is a 501(c)4, allowing for more leeway with respect to lobbying and other political activities. 

Both organizations take in decent funding. Texas Progress in 2018 reported an operating budget of $264,258 (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. “Texas is changing,” the group declared in an election postmortem on November 5, “and we’re not going to stop fighting until it’s a better, more progressive place for all.”