Transcript
Alexander Clark: Howdy and welcome back to Mission Texas. Politics increasingly happens through phones instead of podiums, and very few people understand that shift better than today's guest.
Alexander Clark: Olivia Juliana is one of the most recognizable Gen Z political voices in the country, a Texas-based activist and strategist whose content has reached millions of people online and helped redefine how younger Americans engage with politics.
Alexander Clark: Olivia, welcome to the pod.
Olivia Julianna : What introduction. That's got to easily top 10 of the intros I've ever gotten.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah.
Alexander Clark: I take being a good man.
Kate Rumsey: Yes, excellent. We made a top 10 list.
Alexander Clark: So
Kate Rumsey: and
Olivia Julianna : Well, thank you.
Alexander Clark: welcome. Well,
Olivia Julianna : I appreciate I'm going here.
Alexander Clark: can we start at the beginning? One of my favorite things to do is to learn about people's origin stories. I'm a big Marvel nerd and I love to hear all the how did Peter get bit by the spider?
Alexander Clark: How did Steve go through Vita rays and the super soldier serum? How did you become Olivia Juliana?
Olivia Julianna : Oh my gosh. Well, you know, i think honestly, it depends on what what day you ask me, what kind of mood I'm in I think the the truest answer is, you know, i I'm a born and raised Texan. You know, I was born in Houston. I was raised in rural Texas. I grew up in Fort Bend County. And i think that Everything that encompasses that kind of life is what really shaped my political values, my political beliefs. You know, i grew up in a very conservative Christian household. Both my parents were, you know, lifelong Republicans.
Olivia Julianna : And we were very engaged in church, you know, all through junior high and high school.
Kate Rumsey: Thank you.
Olivia Julianna : i was very active in ministry. i was on the board of directors of the ministry here in Texas. And I consider myself to be pretty conservative. Until my freshman year of high school, i I joined the debate team and I had to do research around a number of political topics. But I was i was a Lincoln Douglas debate kid.
Olivia Julianna : So I never knew if I was going to be arguing in the affirmative or the negative when I was going into any given debate round. So I had to prepare arguments for both cases. So often I found myself having to prepare arguments to justify more conservative viewpoints and to justify more liberal viewpoints. And I realized that, you know, one set of viewpoints was a lot easier to justify than the other. through science and research. But i think my, my kind of large, my largest origin was, you know, in 2020, I was a junior in high school during the COVID lockdowns. And I was just stuck in this rural farmhouse in, in, the middle of Texas, just me and my dad. And I saw everything that was going on in the world through my phone, through this new app that people were talking about called TikTok, which was not super popular at the time. Like when I started TikTok, it was the kind of app where if your friends at school find out that you were on it, they would make fun of you.
Olivia Julianna : And yeah, this was like a real thing of like TikTok was on.
Kate Rumsey: What? Oh my God.
Alexander Clark: No, I remember in the air.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Alexander Clark: I would make fun people in the Air Force when they told me that they had it to be. out I mean, I'm a late adopter, so I'm Kate and you are great on TikTok. I am just awful, but i understand what you're talking about.
Kate Rumsey: I'm not.
Olivia Julianna : Well, I was, i was, i got on board early and, you know, I saw the moment for me that really pushed me into political, being politically involved was when, when Trump gassed protesters outside of the church in Washington, DC, that was just, a you know, I'm a, I'm a devout Christian at the time.
Alexander Clark: Mm-hmm.
Olivia Julianna : i was the vice president of my school's chapter fellowship of Christian athletes. And, I just felt so strongly that that was against everything I stood for. So I started using TikTok to tell young people why they should vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 election. And I thought that I was just going to reach, you know, maybe a couple hundred people here and there. But, you know, by Election Day 2020, had reached, I think, well over a million people through this account in an election I myself wasn't even old enough to vote in.
Olivia Julianna : And From there, it just kind of took off and I started getting more and more involved around issues that were important to me as a woman, as a young woman living in rural Texas. I started talking a lot more about abortion access around the time that SB 8 was being debated in the legislature and you know, i found myself at this kind of crossroads of, okay, you know, a Democrat's in the White House, but I still live in Texas and I wasn't involved in as involved as I should have been. And so I started getting more plugged in and doing advocacy around SB8. We took down a whistleblower tip line that was put up by Texas Right to Life. We did that using TikTok of people submitting fake tips. And then,
Olivia Julianna : You know, after that, i I started talking about raising money for abortion funds in a post-Dobbs world and Congressman Matt Gaetz, this is the story I think most people would know me for is, you know, Congressman Matt Gaetz decided it was appropriate to make comments about myself and my appearance at the time I 19 years old.
Olivia Julianna : And I just decided I wasn't going to take it. i wasn't I wasn't going to deal with it. So I just started of punching back at him really hard at a time when, you know, it really wasn't common for democratic figures and people on the left to be very abrasive and antagonistic online, especially.
Olivia Julianna : And it really took off. And within a couple days, we raised two point three million dollars for fifty abortion funds across the country just two months after roe v wa had been overturned and you know ever since then i've just been involved in politics here in texas i worked on the twenty twenty four senate campaign i was the youth co-chair i spoke at the twenty twenty four democratic national convention i've stumped for different candidates all over this country. And I feel the most passionately about flipping this damn state and taking it back from the 30 years of Republican tyranny that it's been under.
Alexander Clark: Quick thing for our listeners.
Kate Rumsey: I know, and longer than...
Alexander Clark: Matt Gaetz, who he she was just referencing, you may have already forgotten because it feels like years ago, but he was Donald Trump's first choice for attorney general.
Alexander Clark: This guy who Matt Gaetz, what do you remember?
Kate Rumsey: Gaetz?
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Kate Rumsey: What?
Alexander Clark: You remember that?
Kate Rumsey: i don't remember that.
Alexander Clark: He was who he initially nominated.
Kate Rumsey: Oh, God.
Olivia Julianna : I do remember this.
Kate Rumsey: That's right.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah, he was.
Kate Rumsey: I forgot.
Olivia Julianna : i i remember that day, you know, because that was kind I felt very, that was one of those days where, you know, I felt it in my soul as an American of like,
Olivia Julianna : Wow, this is really what our country has come to. is like i had been a you know I had been a teenager who was attacked by a sitting member of Congress. And now not only was he, you know, he got to mean remain a member of Congress, but...
Olivia Julianna : He was originally, like, he was, to your point, he was going to be nominated to be the Attorney General of the United States. Not just, you know, insulting me, but this is a man who was credibly accused of sex trafficking a minor.
Kate Rumsey: But I mean,
Alexander Clark: That's what I was just about to bring up.
Olivia Julianna : And it just... Yeah.
Alexander Clark: and and And when you when you see everything that has come out in the Epstein files so far, it starts to make a lot of sense why he was Trump's top choice. But enough about that.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah, pretty much.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah, there's so much to unpack about your story.
Alexander Clark: go ahead, Kate.
Kate Rumsey: and But I keep thinking about just 18-year-old Olivia and the trauma that just to be thrust into that spotlight as an 18-year-old. And that's not too far away.
Kate Rumsey: And just kudos to you to bridge that world into activism and bringing positivity to it. But I can't imagine you look back and think like, yeah, an 18-year-old should be going through that journey.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah,
Kate Rumsey: what happened and also congratulating people like Matt Gates for doing it. Luckily he's no longer in office and I'm even wondering what the heck he's doing. And look like how far you've come versus his fall from grace.
Kate Rumsey: So.
Olivia Julianna : yeah I think he's on
Alexander Clark: Well, be careful. Donald Trump still needs a new AG, so...
Olivia Julianna : Yeah, well, exactly. I think i think he's on either Newsmax or owen OAN these days. But I mean, yeah, you know, it was it was very difficult. I think that at the time, i i don't think I really internalized just how severe and just how like high level the attention was at that point.
Olivia Julianna : you know i think because I was so new to being a content creator, I didn't realize just how severe of a viral moment it was versus now. you know it's i think I've been doing this for six years now. i i really internalized just how much attention there was at the time of like, this was...
Olivia Julianna : you know Within a couple of days, this kid who I just moved to Houston, I just graduated high school, moved into my first apartment, you know freshman year of college, this post happens on Twitter and within you know two days, it's being addressed by the Washington Post, the New York Times, Fox News. I'm on multiple MSNBC shows. Hillary Clinton is talking about it. i
Kate Rumsey: Mm-hmm.
Olivia Julianna : had put out a letter, you know, saying it's great that people are engaged in this, but I need you to be engaged in our elections too. And I had a list of all these candidates across the country who were running in really critical swing seats and they started posting about it. And it just, it really blew up. And you know I think i didn't start to I didn't really start to feel the aftereffects of that until probably many years later. Because truthfully, like at the time, it really didn't bother me. it really didn't get to me. i was just so focused in on trying to help as many people as possible. the age just it never really crossed my mind to to feel bad for myself. But it is part of the reason why now i i try really hard to...
Olivia Julianna : mentor younger people who are in the space so that they can understand like it's not okay that you are having to deal with this but it is okay for you to use it to make things better for other people and i think that's the attitude that i really try to you know keep true to as we progress on through this insanity that we're living in
Alexander Clark: Well, you know, that that's a message I think even us older people could benefit from too, Olivia. So so thank you for that. I think...
Kate Rumsey: Yeah, you can mentor us. I would love that.
Alexander Clark: Yeah, honestly.
Kate Rumsey: ha
Alexander Clark: to to almost take... Which, you know, on its own merits is pathetic, right? Like a grown man, let alone a member of Congress, making fun of a freshman in college for their appearance is just so low. But like to to to go and take so take it and make something good out of it, to use the attention, to use your platform as a tool on behalf of things you care about is is so inspiring, honestly.
Alexander Clark: To not say, oh, what was me? Which you would have absolutely had the right to do.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Alexander Clark: But to to really kind of they be like, thank you for this unexpected spotlight. Even more people are going to be listening to me now. But before all that happened, going back to 2020, there was time between the the tear gassing in Lafayette Square and Joe Biden becoming elected, where you must have been like, wait a minute.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Alexander Clark: Everybody is like actually listening to me.
Olivia Julianna : yeah
Alexander Clark: What's going on? Like, was there like something about Spider-Man earlier? Was there like a what is this power like with great power comes great responsibility kind of moment?
Kate Rumsey: Alex and his metaphors.
Olivia Julianna : you know i i wish i could say yes but i i i don't think that there is i think even now i have a really hard time like digesting the reality of the reach that I had i reach that i have, the you know the network that I have. And I think that that is just because i had a a very deeply working class childhood. you know My parents divorced when i was 14.
Olivia Julianna : But we weren't very we were pretty low income, like my parents, you know, we moved around a lot. And so my frame of reference for everything always was the type of childhood that I had. And so even now, you know, like i said, you've been doing this for six years in my head.
Olivia Julianna : i' am like, I'm still just. the 17 year old making TikToks in my bedroom. Like to me, that's, that's still who I am. And even then i just felt like I was just talking to my friends on social media. i I think the only moment where I like really like felt it physically in my body of like, Oh my God,
Olivia Julianna : this It is insane to me that this is happening right now was in December of 2024, when I was standing in the Oval Office with Joe Biden.
Olivia Julianna : oh that I think that was the first time that I was like, oh my God, like this is this is real.
Alexander Clark: Yeah.
Olivia Julianna : This is my life. And getting to... getting to
Alexander Clark: Well, the office is designed to make you feel that way, right? It's supposed to be overwhelming.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah, it it is. It was so overwhelming. And, you know, getting to tell the you know the President of the United States, I was from...
Alexander Clark: You're welcome.
Olivia Julianna : this Well, yeah, well, yeah, you're welcome. But I was from Needville, Texas. Like, who the hell in history has ever been able to do that? You know, it's like 2,000 people that live there.
Olivia Julianna : And that's where i grew up.
Alexander Clark: Yeah.
Olivia Julianna : So... No, I guess I have this, this is a very Gen Z thing of what is the imposter syndrome of it doesn't matter how successful you are. Like you'll always think, wow, it's it's fine. It's either that or it's just humility to a fault, but it still doesn't occur to me.
Alexander Clark: i mean, Kate, tell me if you'd disagree, but I think that that applies
Kate Rumsey: Right
Kate Rumsey: now. Yeah.
Alexander Clark: For everybody for I mean, like and even in big law, maybe especially in big law where Kate and I have used to both practice these big law firms like everyone at in those jobs is like resumes are on point.
Kate Rumsey: yeah
Alexander Clark: Like you would think objectively they've got to feel like they've earned that job and they deserve to be there.
Olivia Julianna : Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Alexander Clark: But I would tell you, like maybe a sociopath here and there feels that way, but almost everyone has like a level of imposter syndrome is like, how is this happening?
Alexander Clark: How am I in this job?
Kate Rumsey: Right. Well, and I think a lot of I see people saying this on the internet, like, look who's in office and look who's in charge. So don't ever have imposter syndrome anymore. mean, just the people that are low, man, it is low.
Alexander Clark: The bar is so low now.
Kate Rumsey: But I wanted to go back and ask you a little bit about, because this is very resonant with me growing up in a conservative Christian household and using your platform to talk about that, because
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Kate Rumsey: I, in a smaller way, talked about it it in an op-ed and with our local paper, just to say, like, look, you're not alone. And if you it's OK, like maybe giving people a permission structure of saying, like, you don't have to assume that everyone's conservative, Catholic or Christian. and you know, everyone around you, I assumed when I was growing up, was conservative and Christian and everybody was a Republican. and I'm trying to show people like that's not necessarily the case. And our big tent can be with people who grew up in those environments, too. And so I'm wondering, like, what is your thoughts like in being able to provide that kind of platform and also how that connects to what we're hearing now with more outspoken Christians like a James Tallarico?
Olivia Julianna : Yeah, you know, I i adore James Tallarico, like, to to my core. Yeah, I mentioned the the tip line that we took down. That was back in 2021. And that that led to me speaking at the Women's March in Austin in October of that year, which is where I met James Tallarico for the first time. And he was actually the first member of the Texas legislature that I ever met. And he came up to me because he had known me from Twitter.
Olivia Julianna : but it But even since back then, you know, he he was someone who I always was really inspired by when it came to my faith, because that was at a point when I still struggled with it myself, was, am I, like, am I allowed to be an abortion rights activist and to be a Christian? Because, you know, I mentioned this earlier, i had been on the board of directors of the ministry, you i was I was pretty much kicked out. I was told not to come back after I started doing abortion advocacy work. I was kind of cast as this bad influence and that I was going to, you know,
Olivia Julianna : lead people astray. and that was a, that was an organization I had been involved in for four years. And I was told not to come back. And so i actually, for a really long period of time there, left the church and I stopped calling myself a Christian. i stopped reading the Bible. i stopped, you know, telling people that I was a Christian. And it just, for a very long time, I had this very strong conflicting belief about it until I started talking to James and I befriended my good friend, James Tallarico, who I'm so excited to vote for this November.
Olivia Julianna : But as far as it comes to talking to other people, I've become a lot more public about it in the last, probably a year and a half than I was previously, talking about being a Christian and growing up in a conservative home. And I have been surprised because I would say the people who have been the most receptive to me talking about that has not been Democrats, it has been Republicans.
Olivia Julianna : And i would go as far as to say, i found myself in this really interesting position now where I get approached to public more by Republicans than I get approached by Democrats.
Olivia Julianna : who who reference me talking about my faith and me talking about, you know, growing up with conservative parents or maybe things I may disagree with that, you know, certain Democrats are doing. And I know that's not really the typical answer that you would expect from a Democratic influencer, but I think it's just me in particular of,
Olivia Julianna : I have a very unique voice and very specific convictions that relate to all of this. and i think that that might just be a Texas Democrat thing.
Alexander Clark: Yeah. They're in the Texas Democrat conversion pipeline because yeah, I mean, i wouldn't say I grew up in a Republican household.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah, exactly.
Kate Rumsey: I think...
Olivia Julianna : Okay.
Alexander Clark: I grew up a kind of middle and i get a political household in Sherman, Texas, which is, it's not as small as some parts of Texas. People assume all small towns are the same, but Sherman is the biggest city in Grayson County.
Alexander Clark: People came to us for our Walmart and our, and our movie theater.
Kate Rumsey: think
Olivia Julianna : Oh, y'all have a Walmart?
Olivia Julianna : Wow, we didn't even have that. Look at that.
Alexander Clark: I know I'm telling you. and And when I was in college, we got a Chipotle. It was very exciting. You would have thought it was the 2008 election all over again. But.
Kate Rumsey: We can't have an episode without Alex mentioning Sherman, Texas.
Alexander Clark: I
Alexander Clark: i like know this.
Kate Rumsey: it's what He has to give a plug.
Alexander Clark: not Those are my people.
Olivia Julianna : it.
Alexander Clark: Cause I went to Sherman high school and Austin college in Sherman.
Olivia Julianna : increasingly
Alexander Clark: So the Shermanites. Right. but I bring it up because i was in ministry as well. I was, uh, I, I came to faith through young life in high school.
Alexander Clark: and then I became a young life volunteer whenever I got to college and eventually became the area director from my last two years of college because it was either someone takes that job or Sherman young life stops existing.
Alexander Clark: And when I was in college, I was really involved with college Democrats. And one of the things I did was this CDA College Democrats of America Faith Caucus. And we put together a little video with like everybody's like explanations for why they're a Democrat.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Alexander Clark: And because I was the faith caucus guy, i said, I'm a Democrat because of my faith, not in spite of it.
Olivia Julianna : yeah ye
Alexander Clark: And I remember getting roasted online by all these grown adults who they wanted to talk to me about how my faith was inauthentic and how I didn't understand theology and all that.
Alexander Clark: And so, yes, similarly I don't think is anyone surprised to hear that I also have resonated with James Tallarico over the years for being able to talk specifically to those issues.
Olivia Julianna : And it's, listen,
Olivia Julianna : and he, like, this is, I'll tell people, you know, and I think everyone thinks it's like, of course, Texas Democrats say this every election cycle. But i have never had more people in my personal life that I knew through my childhood and ministry specifically reach out to tell me that they were interested in a candidate who was the opposing party to their own.
Alexander Clark: Yeah.
Olivia Julianna : like I think like just the way that James makes me feel about my faith, I feel like there are probably so many people out there who feel the same way. Just like you said, you know i am a Democrat because I am a Christian. like i was raised to...
Olivia Julianna : you know, plead the widow's cause and to feed the hungry and to, you know love thy neighbor and do all of these things, even if it meant there was nothing in it for me, even if it was difficult. You know, I was raised in the kind of household where my dad would literally give someone the shirt off of his back.
Olivia Julianna : And I don't understand how you can be so it enmeshed in community like that. you know, be so comfortable declining money for free and reduced school lunch programs and willing to cut healthcare care for people who have cancer. It's just so conflicting to me. I don't understand it. And it would be one thing if i if we had a robust,
Olivia Julianna : organizing of churches across this country to actually meet the charitable needs of people. But there are a lot of churches in this country that are far more focused on the paychecks of their preachers than actually helping the people in their pulpit.
Olivia Julianna : And I don't think you can claim to have it both ways. you either Either the government has to help people or the churches have to do it. And at this current moment, it seems like neither one is willing to. Mm-hmm.
Alexander Clark: So combining what you just said and and your background, TikTok, real quick.
Kate Rumsey: Right. What?
Alexander Clark: Have you seen the viral kind of test phone calls on TikTok of like reaching out to churches and seeing like how they would respond to a crying baby who needed formula?
Olivia Julianna : Yeah. Yeah.
Alexander Clark: I only bring it up because the church across the street from mine downtown failed that test spectacularly.
Olivia Julianna : yeah
Alexander Clark: And as soon as I saw that video come out, I like reached out to my church and was like if we ever fail this test, Like it's going to be terrible PR and we'll deserve it. And I'm, I'm out.
Olivia Julianna : I'm not surprised. i mean, i you know I used to, when I was younger, i would get really, really mad when I would hear people say negative things about Christians and Christianity And it kind of fed into that thing we're taught of, you know, like Christians are persecuted. And and as I got older, i had to have this understanding. And I and i liken it to, you know, maybe an older conservative man getting mad when a black or brown person says they're afraid of white people.
Olivia Julianna : I used to get mad at people who were critical of Christians. And now I'm upset at the Christians who have given them the impression that that's what Christianity looks like. And I used to be upset the people who would say things like, I don't trust white people or I'm fearful of white people.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Olivia Julianna : And I'm mad now at the people who have given the impression that being white is so intrinsically tied to being hateful and racist.
Olivia Julianna : And I think that more Christians feel the way that I feel, I'm sure that you feel, that are hesitant to speak up. But, you know, that is what the Bible calls us to do.
Olivia Julianna : and we have not just, you know, an American obligation to to speak against that. We have a Christian obligation to speak against that.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah.
Olivia Julianna : And i that's a big part of the reason why I do what I do.
Kate Rumsey: I have a couple comments and a question on that. I mean, one of the worries I have is how do we get into the communities that are so faith driven as Democrats? Like we can't be at the pulpit, but how do we speak to those people? Because I know just personally, and I'm sure you feel the same way, a lot of people They build their community around the church.
Kate Rumsey: They build their identity around a church.
Olivia Julianna : Thank you.
Kate Rumsey: They have a social network around their church. So how do we get into those spaces? Maybe it is through a TikTok or having a candidate like a James Tallarico. But i mean, getting to our thesis of the podcast, which is about flipping Texas.
Kate Rumsey: One of our earlier episodes, we were talking about this whole thing. I mean, the whole episode was about Christianity in Texas and what's going on. But over 60% of Texans identify as Christian, right? So how do we tie these ideas together? And has that informed your theory on how to flip the state and like what what messaging works? Because I know there was a debate between like James Tallarico. And I think a lot of people are thinking like, we got to like go to the persuadables or people that are not voting. And you've got people like Jasmine Crockett, or maybe I'm just stereotyping her theory, which was, or summarizing her theory, which is we have to turn out our base, we have to excite our base, and we have to have more Democrats, you know, who might be sending this out to come out. So I mean, does does this inform your theory of how to flip the state?
Olivia Julianna : Oh, yeah. I mean, and I think, you know, the Latino community in particular, I think is such a great example of like, what it's going to take, which is when we're, you know, Democrats, we're constantly coming at things from how do Democrats organize in these space? How do Democrats get involved in these conversations? And i think the question we have to ask is, how do you get involved in your community? You know, I wrote a sub stack forever ago, i think maybe for the contrarian, where I said,
Olivia Julianna : when i hurt like when a hurricane hits or when when something tragic happens in someone's life, they're not going to remember the person that knocked on their door and asked them to vote for a candidate. They're going to remember the person that brought them dinner.
Olivia Julianna : And I think that we have to start thinking about it as a type of exposure therapy of... Organizing around the church, especially for Christians, is happening throughout this state at a number of levels. Like it is happening through the church, but it's also happening through parent-teacher alliances, little league games, it Girl Scouts, you know, dance club, high school football games. Like, are you as a Democrat being involved in your community as a Democrat or you actually being involved in your community?
Olivia Julianna : You have to be a villager, when when you're trying to build a village. You can't just expect a village to be there for you when you need it We needed election time, but that means we have to show up for our community even when we're not asking them for something specific. We need to be engaged. We need to be involved. And, you know, I think the reason why James Tallarico has performed up until this point like so phenomenally with Latino voters is because Latino community is so family and faith oriented.
Olivia Julianna : It's not it's not a partisan community. It is very partisan. it is very rooted in, do I feel like you are the type of person that I can sit that i can invite to sit down and have dinner with my family?
Olivia Julianna : And if the answer is no, I'm never going to trust you with my vote. And I think that we as Democrats need to start thinking about things in that frame of less about, am I going to be able to secure your vote, and more about, am I going to be able to secure your trust?
Olivia Julianna : And that comes through being involved in the community and being engaged on social media in a number of different places, different platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, commenting, you know, being in different parents groups on you know Facebook, just seeing and listening and hearing to what it is people have to say. and being a good villager, i think, is what it's going to take for us to flip the state.
Alexander Clark: I like that idea, the the villager idea, because... What I see too often in Democratic politics here in Texas specifically, and maybe more so here than any other state in the country, is unfortunately this kind of aversion to letting anybody in who is not already part of the team.
Kate Rumsey: Hmm. You
Alexander Clark: The problem is our team statewide hasn't won longer than everybody else.
Olivia Julianna : yeah
Alexander Clark: And so by definition, we got to grow the team. And there are different people we can bring onto the team, but I, you know, whether they're someone who we think should be a Democrat and they're unengaged or whether they're, you know, a persuadable or whatever, however you want to slice them and dice it up, consultant speak.
Alexander Clark: Members of the village. How many people aren't plugged in just because.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Alexander Clark: no one's asked them to be there and they haven't been welcomed in.
Kate Rumsey: don't feel welcome. yeah
Olivia Julianna : Yeah. Yeah. You know, i had a friend say to me recently, he phrased it in a way that it really stuck with me is he's someone who you know he's a democrat he's in the party but he tends to be a little bit more independent with his thinking he has some opinions that are a little bit more conservative and he said to me the fastest way for me to become a republican is for somebody to constantly tell me that i'm not a democrat
Olivia Julianna : And I think that that's another that's another part of the problem that we have here in Texas is, you know, we're so used to operating with this in this frame set of there's X amount of Democratic voters and X amount of Republican voters.
Alexander Clark: Right.
Olivia Julianna : And this assumption that if we turn out more, it's going to benefit us. And we don't we know that the opposite is actually true from the data we have. I think we need to be more accepting of people and more understanding of the fact that there is no such thing as a cookie cutter Democrat. There is no such thing as, you know, there's one right way to be a Democrat. We are a big tent. And you know, Texas is in a very unique position of we don't have a choice but to be a big tent state because there are so many different people here and there's just so many people in general that if we start telling people, you know, you're not welcome in the coalition or it's not worth it for us to invest in talking to you. we' are doing ourselves a disservice. And I feel like after 30 years,
Olivia Julianna : I don't quite understand why we haven't learned that lesson yet. Well, maybe we should be more comfortable being around people who we disagree with 80 or, you know, 20% of the time.
Olivia Julianna : if it means that we get to get rid of Ted Cruz or John Corrin, a hundred percent of the time.
Kate Rumsey: Right. I mean, also the stakes, you have to think about what's happening now with Supreme Court and voting rights, which is something that we talked about in our last episode. But it just seems to me like we have like recently the Democratic Party of Texas were having our convention this summer. They were announcing who our keynote speakers are and people are upset with that. I mean, and, and you know, Kendall, who's a friend of the podcast, who's the current chair and he's running for reelection. You know, he understands that like not everybody's going to be happy.
Kate Rumsey: But I think he appreciates that we are this big tent and, you know, hey, like you don't have to like everything to be welcome here. but I'm curious your thoughts, Olivia. you you mentioned going to the White House.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Kate Rumsey: You seem to have are more plugged in maybe nationally. And I'm wondering, like, how do you perceive what's going on with national politics with Texas? i mean, for example, this week we saw Obama came to Austin.
Kate Rumsey: to help Gina and Yosa and James Del Rico and they went to a taco joint. So I mean, how do we are we getting national help? are Are people finally waking up to the idea that Texas is up for grabs?
Kate Rumsey: Cause it also seems to me that people are also perceiving us as expensive and big. Yeah.
Olivia Julianna : like i'll I'll just be blunt. This cycle, i highly doubt it. Highly doubt it. I think that the insider people are looking at the looking at the map and thinking to themselves, Texas, Iowa, Alaska, probably the same terrain.
Olivia Julianna : Two of them are a lot cheaper and a lot smaller than the other one.
Kate Rumsey: Mm-hmm.
Olivia Julianna : I look at it a little differently. I look at it as, you know, when I'm having conversations with national people, I'll consistently tell them, yeah I don't think it's fair to measure success in Texas by the results of our statewide elections.
Olivia Julianna : Now, I think, and i'll and I'd be truthful in saying this, I think that James Tallarico being our Senate candidate in a midterm election year where Donald Trump is not on the ballot, we have a very dejected and demoralized Republican Party is probably the best chance we'll have at flipping this state in a very long time.
Olivia Julianna : But I think the much more
Alexander Clark: I know where they could send it.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah, exactly. But i think the I think the much more realistic understanding is, you know, Texas is much more important nationally than people give it credit for, because it's not just this powerhouse of a Senate candidate we have in James Tallarico.
Kate Rumsey: Shake my head.
Olivia Julianna : We have three very competitive US House races that we need to win. We have Texas 34, we have Texas 28, we have Texas 15. Texas 35 is on the map now. I think in a really good environment, we could take Texas 9. We have the potential just here in the state of Texas to determine the House majority. And I don't think that that should be undercut or taken out of the equation when we're deciding where we're going to spend money to make sure that we're taking back you know the House or the Senate going into next year. and we also have like such a large number of these down-ballot races that are going to be so important to building the infrastructure that we need for the next set of statewide elections. and you know I'm thinking about the Tarrant County judge race. thinking about some of these state house seats in south texas like these are very critical races that we're gonna have to win and we only win those down ballot races those pivotal house seats if we're investing in our senate candidate and so you know i i don't control the purse strings but i think that that has to be included in the conversation around national spending And I think that more and more people are waking up to that.
Olivia Julianna : And I would not be surprised if we continued to see more attention on James Tallarico. But I think the majority of the energy is going to come from grassroots people who are excited about who he is as a candidate.
Olivia Julianna : We're excited at the prospect of flipping Texas. And there's a reason why he's consistently one of the top fundraisers on ActBlue every single week. It's because people are excited about him. And like that, that's what it's going to take.
Olivia Julianna : And they're not excited about John Cornyn or Ken Paxton. You know, I'm, we're still waiting on that Trump endorsement. and It hasn't come yet.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah, I know we don't often talk about Republican races on this podcast for a reason, but It is fascinating. We're gearing up for the runoff. I think it's going to be starting around the time this episode airs.
Kate Rumsey: But yeah, like what is going on in that race? I know you did a sub stack recently and it was recently Mother's Day.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Kate Rumsey: And I was looking at what John Cornyn was putting out against Paxton.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Kate Rumsey: And it's like, is this working? Like, do people care in the runoff about this? Like, it doesn't seem like it is. And I'm what I'm referring to is Cornyn. You can look at his social media if you want.
Kate Rumsey: But it's like he's making fun of Paxton's, obviously, silly his affairs and how he has to write like a Mother's Day card to everybody.
Olivia Julianna : I think
Kate Rumsey: But what's going on? And what do you predict is going to happen? Who's going to be the person Tallarico is going to beat?
Alexander Clark: Can I just before you answer, Olivia, I just want to say i think it's incredible that Donald Trump
Olivia Julianna : they're both strong.
Alexander Clark: went against his original reported plan to endorse John Cornyn. And I would just give credit to, there are some people out there who funded polling that showed that Kim Paxton was more popular within the Republican party and that they would dislike Trump endorsing Cornyn.
Alexander Clark: I'm not gonna say who funded those polls, but I think that was money well spent.
Kate Rumsey: Mm-hmm.
Kate Rumsey: Wink, wink. Okay, yeah.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah. Why also, i think that there, I'm glad you said that because there's another layer here that I don't hear referenced in this conversation very much, which was Ken Paxton showed a level of political intelligence that was very surprising to me.
Olivia Julianna : And it was that, you know, the the big contention point in the in the Senate right now amongst the Republican caucus is the topic of the filibuster.
Olivia Julianna : And the reason why, in my opinion, is because there are a lot of what I call closet Republicans who don't want Trump to know that they're Trump.
Alexander Clark: Was that a Lindsey Graham joke?
Olivia Julianna : Well, you know, if the shoe fits, if shoe fits,
Kate Rumsey: Ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha.
Alexander Clark: good Sorry.
Olivia Julianna : move
Alexander Clark: Go on.
Olivia Julianna : They don't want Trump to know that they disagree with his policy proposals, but they also know that those bills are subject to the filibuster. So they vote yes, knowing that those bills are going to fail because the filibuster exists. But they understand if they get rid of the filibuster and all those bills are subject to a simple majority, they're that either they're going to have to rubber stamp the things he wants to do, or they're going have to publicly object in a way that they are not going to like. So that's why yeah I think you see a lot of pressure on John Thune, who was elected majority leader, with the promise he would not get rid of the filibuster, from those Republicans saying, not a chance in hell you should get rid of this.
Olivia Julianna : And Ken Paxton came out and said, we need to get rid of the filibuster and pass the Save America Act, which is the voter suppression bill that Trump is looking for.
Alexander Clark: Mm-hmm.
Olivia Julianna : The only way to pass that is to get rid of the filibuster. So Ken Paxton's maneuver there put a lot of pressure on Republicans in Washington, because what you have you have that happen at the same time, and I'm sure this is a coincidence, you had dozens of Republican influencers on Twitter talking about how incredible it was that Ken Paxson was advocating for the Save America Act.
Olivia Julianna : And I'm willing to bet that this very highly responsive to social media pressure administration, very hyper online administration, saw all of those things happening at once and realized if Trump endorsed in this race, it would make him look weak.
Alexander Clark: Yeah.
Olivia Julianna : And it would put it would put John Thune in a position where he might have to make a choice that would make his caucus very unhappy. And so that's that's that.
Olivia Julianna : I think Ken Paxton showed a level of hutspied I didn't think was possible.
Alexander Clark: Well, he he clearly called it because John Cornyn now has done a complete 180 and says he wants to get rid of the filibuster, which that's something he has never been in favor of his entire career.
Olivia Julianna : Oh, yeah. No.
Olivia Julianna : No.
Alexander Clark: But he is so desperate because how often does a U.S.
Olivia Julianna : Total opposite.
Alexander Clark: senator not win their primary?
Olivia Julianna : How often, you know, does, if if I was a national Republican donor right now, I would be livid. I would be livid at the spending we've seen here.
Olivia Julianna : And like just a million dollars.
Alexander Clark: It's like $100 million, dollars right? From John Cornyn alone.
Olivia Julianna : $100 million dollars in a primary in Texas where you had lower Republican turnout. and so And another thing I don't see people talk about in this conversation enough, we had, i think, over six, like between six or eight Republican congressional primaries with brand new Republican congressional candidates.
Olivia Julianna : And like, even with all of their spending, we still saw deflated turnout in the Republican primary. And when they're in the position where they're going to have to defend Georgia, North Carolina, or they're going have to spend in Georgia, they're to have to spend North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, or I'm sorry, Michigan, like, I would be livid that they spent so much money in Texas. And I'm sure that there are donors who are feeling like that.
Olivia Julianna : You know, as to what I think will actually happen, I think Paxton will win because John Cornyn is not particularly exciting.
Olivia Julianna : I think that you know he spent so much money in the first half of this primary. I think he had a ceiling. I think a lot of Wesley Hunt's voters are going to go to Ken Paxton because I think they're people who didn't like Cornyn and wanted an alternative but thought they were to hold their nose up and vote for someone else. So I think Ken Paxton will win, but frankly, i don't think it really matters which one of them it is.
Olivia Julianna : Because they both have very strong strategic weaknesses that are going to be really beneficial for James Tallarico.
Alexander Clark: Yeah.
Olivia Julianna : And like I think that, which either one of them it is, they're going cross a bridge they can't come back from. And it's going to be a hard, hard fought battle to win that election in November.
Kate Rumsey: I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be great. I'm like, it just, i think we've talked a lot about this on the podcast and also offline that Tallarico is in a better position than Beto was this time in 2018.
Olivia Julianna : Oh, yeah. Thank you.
Kate Rumsey: He's raised more money. He's got more name ID. And also he's so like he's just being himself and campaigning while this like bruising runoff is happening. And he gets to just stay positive and also campaign with the former president. So I'm looking forward to the fall. But but lynt ending on a higher note, Alex, I'm
Alexander Clark: yes so i i'm so glad you talked about you kind of teed it up earlier olivia something we have to do as a party is get better at sharing our good news our own gospel our own values and we are shy about it i think we hear the word evangelize and we get kind of uncomfortable it's like feels icky to democrats but
Olivia Julianna : Perfect.
Alexander Clark: it's it's a muscle we got to flex. So we got to get some reps. And so we love our new segment. It's called Good News. What is something from your personal life, from your professional life?
Alexander Clark: doesn't have to be political at all. It can be. But it's just so good you got to share it
Olivia Julianna : Yeah. Yeah, actually I do have some. You know, I've lived in the Houston area my entire life. I am 23, turned 24 this year.
Olivia Julianna : And actually moving to Austin in August.
Kate Rumsey: Whoa, yay.
Olivia Julianna : which is a big, it's a big move for me. I've never lived in an area that's so liberal. I've always been represented by conservatives. But I'm particularly excited about it outside of the fact that Austin such a beautiful city because I plan on being very involved in the next legislative session.
Olivia Julianna : i am looking at housing that is literally less than two miles from the Capitol.
Kate Rumsey: Yes, yeah.
Olivia Julianna : So I think that's the good news for me is like, I i plan on being an absolute pain in the ass for whatever Republicans are trying to do tomfoolery. God willing, you know, maybe I'm there to help pass the legislative agenda of Governor Gina Hinojosa.
Kate Rumsey: Yes.
Olivia Julianna : But I'm so like I'm so beyond excited to move to Austin.
Alexander Clark: That's great. Good news. I love that. I'm actually going to make my good news Austin centric as well. So for the weekend that this episode comes out, I am going to be going down to Austin with my family and we're going to be part of a surprise birthday I'm not going to say even party. It's a birthday quest.
Alexander Clark: So let me explain. When I was in Austin, my wife and I attended a group called Wanderings. Sunday nights, we'd get together, we'd share a meal, we'd share wine, and the hosts would lead us through a book of the Bible orally, no books, and And then we would have to retell what happened in the story that week.
Alexander Clark: And then we could talk about it.
Olivia Julianna : Thank you.
Alexander Clark: But the rules were you could only respond to what you had heard and you couldn't bring in outside knowledge. And it was really cool because the host's wife, Kate,
Alexander Clark: had all these friends from Texas Monthly. She was a journalist. And so they came at it with this really interesting perspective of what it details is the narrator, including what's being left out. What is the the narrative arc here? And being in that community was really cool.
Alexander Clark: And the hosts, Mike and Kate, they had three boys and one of those boys is turning 15 and he's really into D&D. And I'm going to be a surprise guest on his quest for his birthday.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah, I love that.
Alexander Clark: Apparently, he's going to have to beat me in a foot race at like a local track or something. Apparently, he's pretty quick, so he he might beat me on the first try, but we'll see.
Olivia Julianna : maybe your good news in another episode can be that you won the race.
Alexander Clark: Yeah.
Kate Rumsey: Yes.
Alexander Clark: How many laps could I hold him off? We'll see.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah, I guess a 15-year-old. Well, it's funny, my husband's a big D&D guy, and you can see, like, his D&D books behind me if you are looking at the video.
Alexander Clark: is that what those are?
Kate Rumsey: Yeah, he does, like, he can be a dungeon, whatever, a whatever those things are.
Alexander Clark: like Stranger Things has made it very popular now. so
Kate Rumsey: Yes, exactly. But interestingly enough, I have a good news from Austin. We just bought a one-day ticket to ACL and for the first weekend, and we're going to bring my four-year-old.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Kate Rumsey: So it's her first, like, her first concert is going to be down there in Austin. I get to go see my cousins, and we've got some really good friends that are down there. So we're very excited because the tickets just came out, and like the three-day.
Kate Rumsey: I don't know, Olivia, are you going to go? or are you going to be
Olivia Julianna : I'm being peer pressured. I'm being peer pressured into potentially going. My best friend, my best friend, Jared lives in Austin and he's very big into concerts and music.
Alexander Clark: Mm-hmm.
Olivia Julianna : So he's like, he's like, I'm not going to pressure you, but also I am going to bring this up very frequently. So we'll, we'll see if I end up going.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah. Well, my husband and I talk about how we both went separately when we were single and didn't know each other and how we've never gone together. And so now we're going to bring my four-year-old and see how good she does with all the drunken you know music goers.
Kate Rumsey: So it'll be great.
Olivia Julianna : That's so cute.
Olivia Julianna : Mm-hmm.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah.
Alexander Clark: Kay, do you mind if I do a twist on the last word this time?
Kate Rumsey: Yeah, go for it.
Alexander Clark: I want to ask specifically about the 18 to 29-year-old demographic because in my Axios AM m newsletter this morning, something jumped out.
Alexander Clark: It said that the share of Americans who speak with their neighbors at least a few times a week has dropped across all age groups. but none as far and as fast as the 18 to 29-year-olds.
Alexander Clark: In 2012, when I graduated from college, 51% of young Americans regularly engaged with their neighbors. Today, that number is 25%.
Kate Rumsey: Geez.
Alexander Clark: Literally, as we were on this podcast, I got a signal chat from my Dallas County Young Democrats group that showed that the generic ballot poll has Democrats getting 86% to Republicans 12% among 18 to 29 year olds.
Alexander Clark: So these are our people.
Kate Rumsey: These are people.
Alexander Clark: These are our people, but they're not talking to their neighbors.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah.
Alexander Clark: So we always ask in the last word segment, give us our marching orders. What do we need to do between now and 2030 to move the needle in this state? I want you to address, because that's a big question.
Alexander Clark: I want you to address specifically 18 to 29 year old crowd.
Olivia Julianna : Oh
Olivia Julianna : my gosh, I love this. I think I'm going to reiterate what I said earlier of if you If you like be a villager before you need a village, make an effort to really plant yourself in your community, like in your city, in your neighborhood, get to know your neighbors. I moved into my apartment. i put little goodie bags on the door of all of my neighboring apartments and saying like here's my number if you need anything like I'm happy to live here like make it a point to get to know the people around you and don't be so glued into your phone which is so ironic for me to say because I am a social media influencer
Kate Rumsey: You so
Olivia Julianna : But I do want you to get off your phone and go out and experience life and experience humanity and really, really make an effort to understand people and to learn that humans are inherently imperfect and life is messy and you're not always going to be right and you're not always going to have it figured out. That's okay as long as you keep trying.
Kate Rumsey: You know, so but that's very, i think that's resonant of every age group. My parents listen to this podcast and sometimes I want them to get off of their phones if they're listening and go, you know, my dad's on YouTube or at home and find their community as well. I'm curious though, I know that you've been preaching to the choir about the thesis that we have on the podcast, but in your words, like why do we need to flip the state? Like why is this such an existential crisis for us?
Olivia Julianna : Do people want to win a presidential election ever again? Like, I mean...
Kate Rumsey: Right.
Olivia Julianna : We have population shifts that are happening.
Alexander Clark: Ever.
Olivia Julianna : Reapportionment is going to happen. Electoral college votes are going to shift. And you know Chuck Schumer himself like has said, if we want to win long term, we're going to have to start winning in places where it's difficult to win.
Olivia Julianna : And so, you know, if you want to win the presidential election, you want to win the Senate, you want to win the House, you need to start investing in Texas infrastructure and Texas candidates because that's the way that you're going to do it.
Kate Rumsey: Yeah.
Alexander Clark: Now you said we, you might win the US house back just from the the seats we could pick up here.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah.
Alexander Clark: But I mean, come 2030, we get another five seats.
Olivia Julianna : Yeah. I mean, this
Alexander Clark: Will we, could we even have a majority if we don't do better in Texas?
Olivia Julianna : 100%. Listen. Listen. As goes Texas, so goes the nation. As the old saying says. Hmm.
Alexander Clark: Amen.
Kate Rumsey: Well, thank you, Olivia. we really appreciate you. People probably are following you already, but what would you like people to follow or where can we find your work? Like what can we do to to support you?
Olivia Julianna : It's Olivia Juliana on every social media platform. And if you would like to follow my sub stack, you can go to Olivia Juliana dot CEO.
Kate Rumsey: Amazing. Well, that is us this week. We will see our listeners next week. And I want to put a plug in for our Patreon if anybody wants to support independent media or give us a five-star review or share our social media that we'll be sharing with Olivia.
Kate Rumsey: And I'll say God bless Texas.
