Team,

It’s a glorious day in Austin, blue sky, the air is crisp and clear, and we’re inside at home, as we have been for most of this year. In the last few weeks, I've been decompressing, taking stock, analyzing, resting, and ticking off my things-to-do list that I haven’t given my attention to during the better part of three and a half years of campaigning; it feels really good to check that list off.

While the results in Texas were disappointing, I remind myself that Texas Democrats have only been organizing seriously for two (maybe three) election cycles. The Trump era rallied many of us to shake off our apathy, get out of our comfort zones, and start organizing. Republicans, on the other hand, have been doing this work for 40 years. So while I'm sad that we didn't pick up seats at the state or federal level, I'm grateful we held onto the seats we gained in 2018. Compared to 2016, we made incredible strides. More than ever, I feel the resolve to get back up and fight because our state and our country are worth fighting for. In the aftermath of the election, we've seen that Trump and Congressional Republican enablers have no regard for our Constitution or our people -- and we will have no choice but to fight for this country and for one another.

We’ve been waiting on official results to really make sense of the data -- since this campaign belongs to you, the people who made it possible, we want to make sure that we put that post-mortem analysis into your hands -- but I’ll be honest with you -- thinking about the losses in Texas hurts. It’s made so much more painful knowing how many of our fellow Texans are suffering right now and that our current Congressional representative doesn’t mind us going hungry, getting sick, or dying alone while the country is facing a Great Depression. There are many questions to answer, and we can’t make strong conclusions until we have the official, person-level records and precinct-level results back from the Secretary of State. There are many people that we need to continue to listen to with humility and grace, to understand what happened and how we can do better.

I miss our team and our volunteers. The final margin doesn’t reflect the strength of the campaign we built, the race we ran, or what we achieved -- running as hard as we could, without corporations or PACs, with honesty and integrity, and bringing joy to a process that for too long has been taken over by bad faith actors intent on keeping all of us divided while they enrich themselves.

Before the year ends, I wanted to write to you and let you know how thankful I am to have been a part of this with you. Over the course of this campaign, volunteers and supporters were responsible for the following:

*
We
built
a
formidable,
youth-led
grassroots
organizing
movement,
with
over
3,000
individual
volunteers
serving
over
11,000
shifts,
making
calls,
knocking
doors,
and
doing
the
work
of
showing
up
for
one
another
at
a
time
when
our
democracy
has
never
been
more
imperiled.


*
We
mobilized
our
entire
campaign
to
be
a
COVID-19
resource
for
the
community,
providing
direct
outreach,
collecting
PPE,
sharing
food
and
housing
resources,
and
providing
mutual
aid
support
to
thousands
of
Texans
affected
by
the
pandemic.


*
We
showed
that
it
is
possible
to
run
a
Congressional
campaign
with
transparency
and
integrity,
raising
$2.2
million
without
taking
a
single
dime
from
any
PACs,
from
over
46,000
contributions
from
people
who
believed
in
the
idea
that
we
can
change
the
way
we
do
politics
in
this
country.


*
We
poured
the
financial
resources
we
raised
into
contacting
Texas
voters
--
sent
1.3
million
texts,
made
over
500,000
phone
calls,
knocked
on
100,000
doors
before
the
pandemic
and
dropped
literature
at
100,000
more,
sent
targeted
mail
to
80,000
harder-to-reach
Texans,
and
served
millions
of
impressions
in
targeted
digital
ads.


*
We
invested
in
Texas
for
the
long
term,
helping
register
10s
of
1000s
of
new
voters
and
garnering
the
highest
Democratic
turnout
in
the
current
district’s
history




I don’t know what’s next for me. For my part, I know there are a thousand things I could have done or said differently, but I know that I gave it my all. Because the people our government has forgotten about deserve nothing less.

Finally, I know that this year has been trying for so many of us -- with many of us losing jobs, some of us losing our homes and even family members succumbing to this terrible pandemic.

For those of you who are able to give, please join me in supporting the Hope Food Pantry [[link removed]] .

I will always be grateful to all of you who contributed and made this work possible. It is your commitment that strengthens my resolve and belief in what’s possible. And for that, I thank you.

With much love and gratitude,

Julie

P.S. Here are a few organizations I hope you’ll support for the good work they’re doing in the social justice and political space.

DivInc - I volunteer by serving on the board of this not-for-profit whose mission is bridging the gap between underrepresented entrepreneurs and the resources they need to build high impact organizations. 2020 was a pivotal year in racial and social justice and equity, and DivInc not only helps underrepresented entrepreneurs, they offer programs to other organizations to assist them in eradicating systemic racism in criminal justice, healthcare, education, voting, or housing. To contribute, click here [[link removed]] .

Common Defense - In my run, I was endorsed by Common Defense, the largest grassroots group of progressive veterans in the country. Common Defense supported me because we share a common vision for what our country can be. Now, they need your help as they continue to fight for a progressive future. They organized and worked to train and mobilize thousands of progressive veterans. And their work paid off; this year, veterans swung from President Trump by over 16 percent from 2016. To donate, click here [[link removed]] . And i f you’re a veteran and you’re interested in joining Common Defense, click here [[link removed]] to get involved.

Vote Mama - Women, and particularly moms of young children, face unique challenges when running for office. Especially in those critical early months, moms face increased scrutiny from donors, establishment institutions, and the public. To contribute, click here [[link removed]] .

Black, Latino and AAPI grassroots organizations in Georgia -- The balance of the US Senate hangs in the balance, and it's important to support the grassroots organizations in Georgia that know their turf, know their people, and know what they need. We've put all the information you need to support Black, Latino and AAPI grassroots organizations on the ground in Georgia at julieoliver.org/georgia [[link removed]]

.

[ PAID FOR BY JULIE OLIVER FOR CONGRESS ]


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