John,
The 2026 midterms are kicking into high gear, and Axios just published a story spotlighting the work our team at Powered by People is doing to register voters and get Democrats elected in Texas. The piece highlights our work building Democratic infrastructure in Republican strongholds, holding rallies across the state, and making sure that Texas Democrats field a candidate in EVERY state and federal race on the ballot in 2026.
And we’re doing this in the most profoundly powerful way possible.
At Powered by People, we’re making a deliberate choice about how we engage with voters. As technology platforms, and our addiction to them, destroy our social and civic bonds… when the temptation has never been greater for political organizations to leverage their immense power to further inflame, isolate, and divide us… our volunteers are consciously choosing to bypass the algorithms and cold digital connections for the extraordinary power of meeting people in person, wherever they are, to bring them into the most important elections of our lives... to bring them out of the despair and cynicism that is manufactured for profit and remind them of their political power in what is still the world’s greatest democracy.
Our thousands of volunteers take the time to reach, register and turn out our fellow Americans, in person, to ensure that we overcome the greatest challenges of our time—authoritarianism, corruption, political violence—and win the elections necessary to lead our country out of this great darkness.
And the best part about our approach to politics: it works.
In 2024, our volunteers met young prospective voters across the state of Texas. We got them registered to vote, personally stayed in touch with them, answered their questions about voting, and nudged them until they cast their ballot. Young voters nationally turned out at a rate of 42%. In Texas it was 37%. In our program, young voters turned out at a rate of 79%.
In 2025, we were on the ground across Texas—recruiting candidates, having conversations in places that are too often ignored, and building the kind of grassroots infrastructure that lasts well beyond a single election. Together, we made real progress toward a stronger Democratic presence statewide.
And now in 2026, Democrats are running for every State House, State Senate, and Congressional seat on the ballot for the first time in modern state history. That’s 39 seats in Congress, 16 seats in the State Senate, and 150 seats in the State House.
Those numbers matter because they represent opportunity—205 chances to organize new voters, 205 chances to deepen relationships in communities that have been ignored for decades, and 205 chances to hold extremists accountable while forcing them to defend every inch of ground instead of running uncontested.
This is how change starts in Texas. Not overnight, but on the ground every day, everywhere. Not by writing people off, but by showing up and doing the work.
If you’re ready to build on this work in 2026, I’m asking you to join us.
Sign up to be part of Powered by People and take your place in the largest grassroots organizing effort Texas has ever seen. Whether you can volunteer, help register voters, show up at events, or simply stay connected and help spread the word, there is a role for you — and we need you in this fight.
Thanks for believing in the power of people. Thanks for showing up when it matters. And thanks for being in this with us — for Texas and for the country.
Beto
P.S. This movement is powered by people choosing action over despair. When you sign up, you’re joining a community committed to doing the hard work — every day — to protect our democracy and deliver a better future.
