Olivia Julianna, a Gen Z activist, strategist, and content creator based in Texas. Her work has reached millions online, and she's become one of the most recognizable young Democratic voices in the country.

This week, Kate and Alex sit down with Olivia to talk about building a political movement in Texas, and why community is the foundation everything else gets built on.

Olivia traces her origin story from a conservative Christian household in rural Fort Bend County to going viral during the 2020 election, taking on Matt Gaetz at 19, and raising $2.3 million for abortion funds in the aftermath of Dobbs. She shares what it was like to be thrust into a national spotlight before she'd even finished her freshman year of college, and why she didn't feel the weight of it until she was standing in the Oval Office with Joe Biden four years later.

Plus: Olivia is moving to Austin, Alex is crashing a teenager's D&D birthday quest, and Kate is taking her four-year-old to ACL for the very first time.

*Note: this was recorded before Trump's Texas Primary endorsement announcement.

 * Why Olivia started making TikToks in 2020, and how she reached a million views before she could even vote
 * Getting attacked by a sitting member of Congress at 19, and turning it into $2.3 million for fifty abortion funds
 * Being pushed out of her ministry for abortion advocacy, and how James Talarico helped her find her way back to her faith
 * The "villager" theory of organizing: show up for your community before you need something from it
 * Why the Democratic big tent in Texas has to be bigger than most party insiders are comfortable with
 * Olivia's prediction on the Cornyn-Paxton runoff and what it means for Talarico in November
 * How Texas congressional seats could determine the House majority
 * The 18-to-29 neighbor stat: down from 51% to 25% since 2012, and what Democrats need to do about it

Where to find Olivia:

All platforms: @OliviaJulianna

Substack: oliviajulianna.co

Support the show:

Love what we're doing? Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast — just a few dollars a month keeps independent Texas media alive. And if you can't spare the cash, a five-star review goes just as far. God bless Texas. 🤠

Ep. 33 (Video): Olivia Julianna on Faith, the Texas Primary, and the Key to Flipping Texas

Olivia Julianna, a Gen Z activist, strategist, and content creator based in Texas. Her work has reached millions online, and she's become one of the most recognizable young Democratic voices in the country.

This week, Kate and Alex sit down with Olivia to talk about building a political movement in Texas, and why community is the foundation everything else gets built on.

Olivia traces her origin story from a conservative Christian household in rural Fort Bend County to going viral during the 2020 election, taking on Matt Gaetz at 19, and raising $2.3 million for abortion funds in the aftermath of Dobbs. She shares what it was like to be thrust into a national spotlight before she'd even finished her freshman year of college, and why she didn't feel the weight of it until she was standing in the Oval Office with Joe Biden four years later.

Plus: Olivia is moving to Austin, Alex is crashing a teenager's D&D birthday quest, and Kate is taking her four-year-old to ACL for the very first time.

*Note: this was recorded before Trump's Texas Primary endorsement announcement. 

 * Why Olivia started making TikToks in 2020, and how she reached a million views before she could even vote
 * Getting attacked by a sitting member of Congress at 19, and turning it into $2.3 million for fifty abortion funds
 * Being pushed out of her ministry for abortion advocacy, and how James Talarico helped her find her way back to her faith
 * The "villager" theory of organizing: show up for your community before you need something from it
 * Why the Democratic big tent in Texas has to be bigger than most party insiders are comfortable with
 * Olivia's prediction on the Cornyn-Paxton runoff and what it means for Talarico in November
 * How Texas congressional seats could determine the House majority
 * The 18-to-29 neighbor stat: down from 51% to 25% since 2012, and what Democrats need to do about it

Where to find Olivia:

All platforms: @OliviaJulianna 

Substack: oliviajulianna.co

Support the show: 

Love what we're doing? Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast — just a few dollars a month keeps independent Texas media alive. And if you can't spare the cash, a five-star review goes just as far. God bless Texas. 🤠

Ep. 33 (Audio): Olivia Julianna on Faith, the Texas Primary, and the Key to Flipping Texas

Constitutional law attorney, voting rights expert, and former president of the Texas Civil Rights Project Mimi Marziani joins Kate and Alex to break down the Supreme Court's Callais decision — and what it means for Texas, for redistricting, and for democracy itself.

Plus: Mimi's clients are refusing to be silenced, Alex's daughter turns four, and Kate announces she's hanging a shingle.

What we discuss:

 * What the Callais decision actually holds — and why Justice Thomas's concurrence may be more honest about it than the majority opinion
 * The 25-year arc from Bush v. Gore to Crawford to Shelby County to Rucho to Callais — a slow burn with a fast finish
 * Why the court reaching out to decide a question the parties didn't ask is virtually unprecedented, and what Citizens United has in common with it
 * The immediate-effect ruling and why the only plausible explanation is to benefit Republicans in the 2026 midterms
 * The Texas redistricting fight: how a 150-page federal court finding got swatted away on the shadow docket
 * The Republican Party of Texas lawsuit seeking to restrict primary participation — and Mimi's amicus brief
 * Tennessee's new map, the Memphis dismemberment, and what comes next
 * Why 2030 redistricting is the stakes underneath the stakes — and why Texas is about to gain five more congressional seats
 * What it would take for Congress to act: the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the filibuster, and what 2029 might look like
 * The one thing standing between Republicans and unlimited gerrymandering: losing

"Republicans in Texas believe in Texas Democrats more than Texas Democrats do." — Mimi Marziani

Read Mimi's new article: Weaponized Oversight: Texas’s Escalating Campaign Against Nonprofit Advocacy & the Chilling Effect on Speech and Association, 45 Rev. Litig. (forthcoming 2026), available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6748785.

Support the show:

Love what we're doing? Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast — just a few dollars a month keeps independent Texas media alive. And if you can't spare the cash, a five-star review goes just as far. God bless Texas. 🤠

Ep. 32 (Video version): SCOTUS Gutted the Voting Rights Act. What's Next? (Mimi Marziani, Esq.)

Constitutional law attorney, voting rights expert, and former president of the Texas Civil Rights Project Mimi Marziani joins Kate and Alex to break down the Supreme Court's Callais decision — and what it means for Texas, for redistricting, and for democracy itself. 

Plus: Mimi's clients are refusing to be silenced, Alex's daughter turns four, and Kate announces she's hanging a shingle.

What we discuss: 

 * What the Callais decision actually holds — and why Justice Thomas's concurrence may be more honest about it than the majority opinion
 * The 25-year arc from Bush v. Gore to Crawford to Shelby County to Rucho to Callais — a slow burn with a fast finish
 * Why the court reaching out to decide a question the parties didn't ask is virtually unprecedented, and what Citizens United has in common with it
 * The immediate-effect ruling and why the only plausible explanation is to benefit Republicans in the 2026 midterms
 * The Texas redistricting fight: how a 150-page federal court finding got swatted away on the shadow docket
 * The Republican Party of Texas lawsuit seeking to restrict primary participation — and Mimi's amicus brief
 * Tennessee's new map, the Memphis dismemberment, and what comes next
 * Why 2030 redistricting is the stakes underneath the stakes — and why Texas is about to gain five more congressional seats
 * What it would take for Congress to act: the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the filibuster, and what 2029 might look like
 * The one thing standing between Republicans and unlimited gerrymandering: losing

"Republicans in Texas believe in Texas Democrats more than Texas Democrats do." — Mimi Marziani

Read Mimi's new article: Weaponized Oversight: Texas’s Escalating Campaign Against Nonprofit Advocacy & the Chilling Effect on Speech and Association, 45 Rev. Litig. (forthcoming 2026), available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6748785.

Support the show: 

Love what we're doing? Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast — just a few dollars a month keeps independent Texas media alive. And if you can't spare the cash, a five-star review goes just as far. God bless Texas. 🤠

Ep. 32: SCOTUS Gutted the Voting Rights Act. What's Next? (Mimi Marziani, Esq.)

Texas's 23rd congressional district just got a whole lot more interesting. Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez resigned amid a sex scandal, leaving 800,000 Texans without representation — and Greg Abbott refuses to call a special election. Katy Padilla-Stout, a San Antonio attorney, former teacher, child welfare advocate, and mom of four, won a four-way Democratic primary outright on just $50K. Now she's taking on "AK Guy" Brandon Herrera — a gunfluencer with Nazi-adjacent baggage who wasn't even registered to vote when he first ran — in one of the most competitive and diverse congressional districts in the country.

Kate and Alex dig into what's really at stake in TX-23, why this race is winnable, and why the district has never elected an extremist — or a congresswoman. Yet.

Plus: Kate got promoted in the military (views expressed here are her own). Alex launched his law firm. And Katy is spending her 41st birthday watching the Devil Wears Prada sequel with her closest friends. 

In this episode:

 * The Tony Gonzalez scandal: what actually happened with his staffer, and why it's worse than you think
 * Who is Brandon Herrera, her opponent? His YouTube channel, his Confederate ties, and his joke about veterans
 * TX-23 geography: 800 miles of border, 26+ counties, and why you have to win both Bexar and the rural
 * National support: Jamie Raskin's group, EMILY's List, MoveOn, and the Hispanic Caucus Gold Pack
 * Running for Congress with four kids, including two she adopted
 * The poll showing Katy within margin of error against Herrera despite Trump's +12 in the district

Support Katy: 

Website: katyforcongress.com [http://katyforcongress.com/] 

Socials: @katy4congress on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook

Support the show:

Love what we're doing? Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast [https://patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast] — just a few dollars a month keeps independent Texas media alive. And if you can't spare the cash, a five-star review goes just as far. God bless Texas. 🤠

Ep. 31: The Texas Congressional Race Getting National Attention (Katy Padilla-Stout)

If you want to flip Texas, you have to win the Rio Grande Valley. This week on Mission: Texas, we're sitting down with Julio Salinas — 26 years old, son of a migrant farm worker, former Texas House legislative director, and the candidate who just shocked the entire RGV political establishment by finishing first in a three-way primary for Texas House District 41. He's heading into a runoff against a candidate who only voted in a Democratic primary for the first time in 2024. 

We also get into el dedazo, the kingmaker problem in RGV politics, why immigration and the economy are two sides of the same coin in a region that runs on cross-border tourism, and what it means when your aunt gets detained by ICE on the same night you find out you won your primary.

Plus: Julio reveals he took up fencing in college because of a girl, Kate shares a personal milestone in her journey toward federal criminal defense work, and Alex is heading to a very important banquet tonight.

In this episode:

 * Julio's origin story: from knocking doors at 15 to the Texas House floor
 * Why being called a "career staffer" by a millionaire banker might be the best attack line a candidate could hope for
 * The data infrastructure gap that has left the Valley behind — and how Julio's campaign is fixing it
 * HD-41's 24-point Trump swing: what happened and who Democrats need to win back
 * Why immigration IS an economic issue in South Texas — and why downtown McAllen is now empty
 * El dedazo: the kingmaker machine Julio is running to disrupt
 * Leaders We Deserve, Greg Casar's endorsement, and the new generation of Texas Democratic infrastructure
 * The runoff: May 26th, early voting starts May 18th

Follow & Connect:

 * Julio Salinas: @Julio4RGV on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook | julio4rgv.com — donate if you can, this is one of the most important runoffs in the state
 * Leaders We Deserve: leaderswedeserve.com
 * Mission: Texas on social: @missiontexaspodcast

Support the show: Independent Texas media needs your support. Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast [https://patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast] for just a few dollars a month, or leave us a five-star review wherever you listen. God bless Texas. 🤠

Ep. 30: Fighting for the RGV - Julio Salinas on Flipping South Texas

This week, we're sitting down with Shelby Evans, the lead organizer behind Austin's No Kings rally, to find out how the movement actually works, who's showing up, and what comes next.

Shelby breaks down the nuts and bolts of coalition organizing — the eight-week runway, the open call for artists and musicians, the trilingual programming in English, Spanish, and ASL, and the 80+ organizations that ran out of paper at their sign-up tables. She also explains why No Kings is a movement, not a moment — and how every rally is a funnel into sustained, local action.

Plus: Alex makes a big personal announcement, Kate shares a family celebration in El Paso, and Shelby drops her drag name.

In this episode:

 * How No Kings National and local orgs coordinate — and why decentralization is the point
 * The "show-upocracy": why showing up is the backbone of organizing
 * No Kings 3 by the numbers: 8–9 million participants nationwide, 100+ voter registrations in Austin alone
 * Why the movement is pivoting toward May Day and labor solidarity

Follow & Connect:

 * Hands Off Central Texas: handsoffcentraltx.org | @handsoffcentraltx on all platforms
 * League of Women Voters: lwv.org (find your local chapter)
 * Shelby Evans: @shelbyhaeve on all platforms (Miss B. Haeve)
 * Mission: Texas on social: @missiontexaspodcast

Support the show: Love what we're doing? Become a member at patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast [https://patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast] — just a few dollars a month keeps independent Texas media alive. And if you can't spare the cash, a five-star review goes just as far. God bless Texas. 🤠

Ep. 29: Abbott Called It Antifa. Texans Called It a Saturday. (What's Next for the No Kings Movement)

Junior Ezeonu just pulled off one of the most compelling primary upsets in recent Texas Democratic politics — defeating a 16-year incumbent in a safe blue seat, severely outspent, on grassroots power alone. Now he's headed to the Texas State House representing Texas House District 101, and he's got a roadmap for flipping the legislature by 2030.

Kate and Alex sit down with the Grand Prairie city council member turned state rep-elect to talk housing affordability, the 2030 redistricting fight, why East Texas could change everything, and what Democrats keep getting wrong about their own message.

In this episode:

 * How Junior beat incumbent Chris Turner in the Democratic primary with $100K vs. a vastly bigger war chest — and what that means for the "money wins" conventional wisdom
 * His two-part housing affordability plan: banning private equity from buying single-family homes and a state-subsidized mortgage buy-down program for first-time buyers
 * Why the average age of a first-time homebuyer is now 40 years old (up from 31 just two      decades ago) and what to do about it
 * The corporate PAC pledge: Junior hasn't taken any and won't
 * Why East Texas is the sleeper opportunity that could flip the entire state — and the Stacey      Abrams-style investment it would take
 * The 2026 → 2028 → 2030 roadmap to a Democratic State House majority
 * James Talarico, Black voter outreach, and why persuasion beats turnout-only thinking
 * Why Texas is a working-class state, not a conservative one
 * VIA Grand Prairie: 13,000 rides/month, $3 a ride, and why Junior is now a transit evangelist in the legislature

Follow Junior Ezeonu: 

Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok: @CallMeJRE 

Facebook/YouTube: Junior Ezeonu | Conversations with Junior Ezeonu podcast

Support Mission: Texas: 

🎙️ Subscribe wherever you listen 

❤️ Become a Patron: patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast [https://patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast] 

⭐ Leave a 5-star review and share on social — it genuinely helps us grow

Ep. 28: Junior Ezeonu & The Primary Upset That's Changing Texas Democrats 

Texas is unique in that it has two separate Supreme Courts: one for civil cases (the Texas Supreme Court) and one for criminal cases (the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals). Currently, both courts are composed entirely of Republican justices. And we elect these judges here. 

In this episode, Kate and Alex interview three Democratic women seeking to bring balance to these courts: Holly Taylor (candidate for the Court of Criminal Appeals), Justice Chari Kelly (candidate for Texas Supreme Court, Place 2), and Justice Maggie Ellis (candidate for Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court). The discussion covers the structure and function of Texas's highest courts, the significant implications of the 2026 elections, and why these races may be among the most impactful judicial contests in recent history.

What we cover:

• How 7 out of 9 current Texas Supreme Court justices were appointed directly by Governor Abbott, highlighting the significant influence the executive branch holds over the judiciary.

• The 15th Court of Appeals: a newly established appellate court with jurisdiction over cases involving the governor and attorney general, staffed exclusively by the governor’s appointees.

• Ken Paxton has actively campaigned to remove judges who have ruled against him.

• Recent primary election results indicate that 2026 could be a significant year for Democratic candidates, with trends suggesting increased voter support and the potential for a major shift in the composition of Texas's highest courts.

Follow and support the candidates:

• Holly Taylor: https://www.hollytforjudge.com/(@hollytforjudge)

• Justice Chari Kelly: https://charikelly.com/ (@chari_kelly)

• Justice Maggie Ellis: https://www.maggieforjustice.com/ (@maggieforjustice)

Support Mission: Texas on Patreon: patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast

Ep. 27: Flipping the Highest Texas Courts—Holly Taylor & Justices Chari Kelly & Maggie Ellis

What does it take to run for Texas Lieutenant Governor as a union negotiator and not a career politician? In this episode of Mission: Texas, Kate and Alex sit down with Marcos Velez, Democratic candidate for Texas Lieutenant Governor and Assistant Director of United Steelworkers District 13, ahead of the 2026 runoff election.

Marcos brings a background unlike anyone else in the race: raised by a hotel housekeeper who made $4.25 an hour before a union job changed their family's trajectory, Marcos has spent his career negotiating with multinational corporations for better wages, safer working conditions, and equal pay for women on job sites across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Now he's taking that same fight to the race for Lieutenant Governor.

In this conversation, Marcos and the hosts dig into:

• Why he jumped into the Lt. Governor's race and what his teenage daughter said that shook him to his core

• His top legislative priorities: raising the state minimum wage, restoring public education funding, and expanding labor rights for public sector workers

• How Dan Patrick has weaponized the Lt. Governor's office, blocking popular bills, sidelining newly elected Senator Taylor Rehmet, and running Texas government behind closed doors

• The working-class voter problem and why Latinos and Black Texans are drifting from the Democratic Party and what the party must do to earn back their trust

• Mike Collier's independent bid and why Marcos isn't worried

• His theory of victory: economic populism, unapologetic progressive values, and a union-style organizing model targeting voters from the RGV to rural Texas

Marcos also explains why the Lt. Governor's role is mainly about bargaining and setting priorities, and why his experience at the labor negotiations makes him the right fit, regardless of what the political scene expects.

The runoff election is approaching. If you're a Texas Democrat trying to understand what a working-class, Houston-based, labor-supported candidate looks like at the top of the ticket, this episode is essential listening.

Follow Marcos: @velezfortx on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook | velezfortexas.com

Support Mission: Texas on Patreon: patreon.com/missiontexaspodcast

Ep. 26: Marcos Velez on the Texas Lt. Governor Runoff and Working-Class Politics

Texas is growing faster than anywhere else — and that growth means more electoral power. As blue strongholds lose seats, the road to protecting the White House must run through the Lone Star State.  If we do not flip Texas by the next census, we risk losing the White House for a generation. 

“Mission: Texas” dives into the strategy, people, and stories needed to flip the state. 

Hosted by two Texas lawyers and parents — a former candidate and a long-time organizer, both with military roots — we mix mission-driven focus with a dose of pop-culture fun. 

Think of us as your Democratic club while you cook, commute, or go for a walk.  And don’t worry: this mission is serious, but it’s definitely not impossible.

(Viewpoints expressed are those of the hosts and not of their employers or of the U.S. Department of Defense)

Kate Rumsey

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