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Ep. 33 (Video): Olivia Julianna on Faith, the Texas Primary, and the Key to Flipping Texas
55 Plays4 days ago
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. 🤠
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Transcript
Introduction of Olivia Juliana
00:00:01
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.
00:00:12
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.
00:00:27
Alexander Clark
Olivia, welcome to the pod.
00:00:31
Olivia Julianna
What introduction. That's got to easily top 10 of the intros I've ever gotten.
00:00:33
Kate Rumsey
Yeah.
00:00:38
Alexander Clark
I take being a good man.
00:00:38
Kate Rumsey
Yes, excellent. We made a top 10 list.
00:00:39
Alexander Clark
So
00:00:40
Kate Rumsey
and
00:00:42
Olivia Julianna
Well, thank you.
00:00:43
Alexander Clark
welcome. Well,
00:00:43
Olivia Julianna
I appreciate I'm going here.
00:00:46
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?
00:00:59
Alexander Clark
How did Steve go through Vita rays and the super soldier serum?
Olivia's Conservative Roots to Activism Journey
00:01:04
Alexander Clark
How did you become Olivia Juliana?
00:01:08
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.
00:01:47
Olivia Julianna
And we were very engaged in church, you know, all through junior high and high school.
00:01:47
Kate Rumsey
Thank you.
00:01:52
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.
00:02:12
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
Using TikTok for Political Engagement
00:02:38
Olivia Julianna
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.
00:03:12
Olivia Julianna
And yeah, this was like a real thing of like TikTok was on.
00:03:12
Kate Rumsey
What? Oh my God.
00:03:15
Alexander Clark
No, I remember in the air.
00:03:17
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:03:18
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.
00:03:30
Kate Rumsey
I'm not.
00:03:31
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.
00:03:46
Alexander Clark
Mm-hmm.
00:03:50
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.
00:04:22
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
Confrontation with Matt Gaetz and Fundraising
00:04:51
Olivia Julianna
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,
00:05:06
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.
00:05:28
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.
00:05:48
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.
Matt Gaetz's Political Associations
00:06:27
Alexander Clark
Quick thing for our listeners.
00:06:28
Kate Rumsey
I know, and longer than...
00:06:31
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.
00:06:41
Alexander Clark
This guy who Matt Gaetz, what do you remember?
00:06:43
Kate Rumsey
Gaetz?
00:06:45
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:06:45
Kate Rumsey
What?
00:06:45
Alexander Clark
You remember that?
00:06:46
Kate Rumsey
i don't remember that.
00:06:48
Alexander Clark
He was who he initially nominated.
00:06:48
Kate Rumsey
Oh, God.
00:06:48
Olivia Julianna
I do remember this.
00:06:51
Kate Rumsey
That's right.
00:06:53
Olivia Julianna
Yeah, he was.
00:06:53
Kate Rumsey
I forgot.
00:06:53
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,
00:07:06
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...
00:07:23
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.
00:07:37
Kate Rumsey
But I mean,
00:07:37
Alexander Clark
That's what I was just about to bring up.
00:07:37
Olivia Julianna
And it just... Yeah.
00:07:38
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.
00:07:49
Olivia Julianna
Yeah, pretty much.
Challenges as a Young Activist
00:07:51
Kate Rumsey
Yeah, there's so much to unpack about your story.
00:07:51
Alexander Clark
go ahead, Kate.
00:07:53
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.
00:08:04
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.
00:08:16
Olivia Julianna
Yeah,
00:08:17
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.
00:08:30
Kate Rumsey
So.
00:08:30
Olivia Julianna
yeah I think he's on
00:08:30
Alexander Clark
Well, be careful. Donald Trump still needs a new AG, so...
00:08:33
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.
00:08:55
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...
00:09:15
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
00:09:39
Kate Rumsey
Mm-hmm.
00:09:39
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...
00:10:25
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
00:10:45
Alexander Clark
Well, you know, that that's a message I think even us older people could benefit from too,
Faith's Role in Activism and Politics
00:10:49
Alexander Clark
Olivia. So so thank you for that. I think...
00:10:52
Kate Rumsey
Yeah, you can mentor us. I would love that.
00:10:53
Alexander Clark
Yeah, honestly.
00:10:54
Kate Rumsey
ha
00:10:56
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.
00:11:21
Alexander Clark
To not say, oh, what was me? Which you would have absolutely had the right to do.
00:11:26
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:11:26
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.
00:11:35
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:11:49
Alexander Clark
Everybody is like actually listening to me.
00:11:52
Olivia Julianna
yeah
00:11:52
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?
00:12:06
Kate Rumsey
Alex and his metaphors.
00:12:06
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.
00:12:42
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.
00:13:00
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,
00:13:22
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.
00:13:34
Olivia Julianna
oh that I think that was the first time that I was like, oh my God, like this is this is real.
00:13:37
Alexander Clark
Yeah.
00:13:40
Olivia Julianna
This is my life. And getting to... getting to
00:13:42
Alexander Clark
Well, the office is designed to make you feel that way, right? It's supposed to be overwhelming.
00:13:46
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...
00:13:54
Alexander Clark
You're welcome.
00:13:55
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.
00:14:07
Olivia Julianna
And that's where i grew up.
00:14:07
Alexander Clark
Yeah.
00:14:08
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.
00:14:24
Alexander Clark
i mean, Kate, tell me if you'd disagree, but I think that that applies
00:14:24
Kate Rumsey
Right
00:14:29
Kate Rumsey
now. Yeah.
00:14:29
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.
00:14:29
Kate Rumsey
yeah
00:14:44
Alexander Clark
Like you would think objectively they've got to feel like they've earned that job and they deserve to be there.
00:14:45
Olivia Julianna
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:14:51
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?
00:15:02
Alexander Clark
How am I in this job?
00:15:02
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.
00:15:13
Alexander Clark
The bar is so low now.
00:15:17
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
00:15:23
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:15:27
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.
Public Discussion on Faith and Republican Reception
00:15:56
Kate Rumsey
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?
00:16:09
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.
00:16:38
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,
00:17:18
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.
00:17:54
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.
00:18:22
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.
00:18:34
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,
00:18:54
Olivia Julianna
I have a very unique voice and very specific convictions that relate to
Democrats Engaging with Faith Communities
00:19:00
Olivia Julianna
all of this. and i think that that might just be a Texas Democrat thing.
00:19:04
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.
00:19:08
Olivia Julianna
Yeah, exactly.
00:19:08
Kate Rumsey
I think...
00:19:09
Olivia Julianna
Okay.
00:19:12
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.
00:19:25
Alexander Clark
People came to us for our Walmart and our, and our movie theater.
00:19:25
Kate Rumsey
think
00:19:29
Olivia Julianna
Oh, y'all have a Walmart?
00:19:30
Olivia Julianna
Wow, we didn't even have that. Look at that.
00:19:31
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.
00:19:39
Kate Rumsey
We can't have an episode without Alex mentioning Sherman, Texas.
00:19:39
Alexander Clark
I
00:19:42
Alexander Clark
i like know this.
00:19:42
Kate Rumsey
it's what He has to give a plug.
00:19:43
Alexander Clark
not Those are my people.
00:19:44
Olivia Julianna
it.
00:19:44
Alexander Clark
Cause I went to Sherman high school and Austin college in Sherman.
00:19:45
Olivia Julianna
increasingly
00:19:47
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.
00:19:57
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.
00:20:10
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.
00:20:20
Olivia Julianna
Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:20:25
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.
00:20:32
Olivia Julianna
yeah ye
00:20:33
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.
00:20:45
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.
00:20:55
Olivia Julianna
And it's, listen,
00:20:58
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.
00:21:20
Alexander Clark
Yeah.
00:21:21
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...
00:21:38
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.
00:21:57
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,
00:22:28
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.
00:22:41
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.
00:22:51
Alexander Clark
So combining what you just said and and your background, TikTok, real quick.
00:22:51
Kate Rumsey
Right. What?
00:22:55
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?
00:23:00
Olivia Julianna
Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:07
Alexander Clark
I only bring it up because the church across the street from mine downtown failed that test spectacularly.
00:23:09
Olivia Julianna
yeah
00:23:13
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.
00:23:25
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.
00:23:55
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.
00:24:04
Kate Rumsey
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:24:10
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.
00:24:20
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.
00:24:32
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.
00:24:40
Kate Rumsey
Yeah.
00:24:41
Olivia Julianna
And i that's a big part of the reason why I do what I do.
00:24:45
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
Strategies for Democrats in Texas Elections
00:24:54
Kate Rumsey
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.
00:25:04
Kate Rumsey
They build their identity around a church.
00:25:05
Olivia Julianna
Thank you.
00:25:06
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.
00:25:20
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?
00:26:06
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,
00:26:38
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.
00:26:55
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?
00:27:30
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.
00:28:04
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?
00:28:18
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?
00:28:33
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.
00:28:58
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.
00:29:18
Kate Rumsey
Hmm. You
00:29:21
Alexander Clark
The problem is our team statewide hasn't won longer than everybody else.
00:29:21
Olivia Julianna
yeah
00:29:26
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.
00:29:46
Alexander Clark
Members of the village. How many people aren't plugged in just because.
00:29:48
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:29:53
Alexander Clark
no one's asked them to be there and they haven't been welcomed in.
00:29:53
Kate Rumsey
don't feel welcome. yeah
00:29:55
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
00:30:25
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.
00:30:26
Alexander Clark
Right.
00:30:39
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,
00:31:30
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.
00:31:42
Olivia Julianna
if it means that we get to get rid of Ted Cruz or John Corrin, a hundred percent of the time.
00:31:48
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.
00:32:15
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.
00:32:25
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:32:26
Kate Rumsey
You seem to have are more plugged in maybe nationally.
Texas in National Politics and Down-ballot Focus
00:32:30
Kate Rumsey
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.
00:32:40
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?
00:32:52
Kate Rumsey
Cause it also seems to me that people are also perceiving us as expensive and big. Yeah.
00:32:57
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.
00:33:21
Olivia Julianna
Two of them are a lot cheaper and a lot smaller than the other one.
00:33:25
Kate Rumsey
Mm-hmm.
00:33:26
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.
00:33:43
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.
00:34:10
Olivia Julianna
But I think the much more
00:34:11
Alexander Clark
I know where they could send it.
00:34:12
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.
00:34:16
Kate Rumsey
Shake my head.
00:34:29
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.
00:35:48
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.
00:36:01
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.
00:36:13
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.
00:36:19
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.
00:36:29
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.
00:36:33
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:36:35
Kate Rumsey
And I was looking at what John Cornyn was putting out against Paxton.
00:36:37
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:36:38
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.
00:36:49
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.
00:36:56
Olivia Julianna
I think
00:36:57
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?
00:37:03
Alexander Clark
Can I just before you answer, Olivia, I just want to say i think it's incredible that Donald Trump
00:37:04
Olivia Julianna
they're both strong.
00:37:11
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.
Republican Senate Primary Analysis
00:37:31
Alexander Clark
I'm not gonna say who funded those polls, but I think that was money well spent.
00:37:34
Kate Rumsey
Mm-hmm.
00:37:37
Kate Rumsey
Wink, wink. Okay, yeah.
00:37:38
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.
00:38:00
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.
00:38:11
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.
00:38:25
Alexander Clark
Was that a Lindsey Graham joke?
00:38:27
Olivia Julianna
Well, you know, if the shoe fits, if shoe fits,
00:38:28
Kate Rumsey
Ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha.
00:38:30
Alexander Clark
good Sorry.
00:38:31
Olivia Julianna
move
00:38:31
Alexander Clark
Go on.
00:38:33
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.
00:39:21
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.
00:39:31
Alexander Clark
Mm-hmm.
00:39:32
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.
00:40:05
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.
00:40:13
Alexander Clark
Yeah.
00:40:25
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.
00:40:37
Olivia Julianna
I think Ken Paxton showed a level of hutspied I didn't think was possible.
00:40:41
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.
00:40:46
Olivia Julianna
Oh, yeah. No.
00:40:50
Olivia Julianna
No.
00:40:51
Alexander Clark
But he is so desperate because how often does a U.S.
00:40:52
Olivia Julianna
Total opposite.
00:40:54
Alexander Clark
senator not win their primary?
00:40:59
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.
00:41:11
Olivia Julianna
And like just a million dollars.
00:41:12
Alexander Clark
It's like $100 million, dollars right? From John Cornyn alone.
00:41:16
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.
00:41:36
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.
00:42:04
Olivia Julianna
You know, as to what I think will actually happen, I think Paxton will win because John Cornyn is not particularly exciting.
00:42:14
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.
00:42:35
Olivia Julianna
Because they both have very strong strategic weaknesses that are going to be really beneficial for James Tallarico.
00:42:35
Alexander Clark
Yeah.
00:42:45
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.
00:42:57
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
James Tallarico's Senate Campaign Optimism
00:43:07
Kate Rumsey
this time in 2018.
00:43:08
Olivia Julianna
Oh, yeah. Thank you.
00:43:10
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
00:43:31
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
00:43:38
Olivia Julianna
Perfect.
00:43:55
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?
00:44:07
Alexander Clark
doesn't have to be political at all. It can be. But it's just so good you got to share it
00:44:11
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.
00:44:21
Olivia Julianna
And actually moving to Austin in August.
00:44:25
Kate Rumsey
Whoa, yay.
00:44:26
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.
00:44:46
Olivia Julianna
i am looking at housing that is literally less than two miles from the Capitol.
00:44:51
Kate Rumsey
Yes, yeah.
00:44:52
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.
00:45:10
Kate Rumsey
Yes.
00:45:11
Olivia Julianna
But I'm so like I'm so beyond excited to move to Austin.
00:45:16
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.
00:45:37
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.
00:45:59
Alexander Clark
And then we could talk about it.
00:45:59
Olivia Julianna
Thank you.
00:46:01
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,
00:46:10
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.
00:46:27
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.
00:46:41
Kate Rumsey
Yeah, I love that.
00:46:43
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.
00:46:52
Olivia Julianna
maybe your good news in another episode can be that you won the race.
00:46:56
Alexander Clark
Yeah.
00:46:56
Kate Rumsey
Yes.
00:46:57
Alexander Clark
How many laps could I hold him off? We'll see.
00:46:59
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.
00:47:04
Alexander Clark
is that what those are?
00:47:06
Kate Rumsey
Yeah, he does, like, he can be a dungeon, whatever, a whatever those things are.
00:47:09
Alexander Clark
like Stranger Things has made it very popular now. so
00:47:12
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.
00:47:21
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:47:24
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.
00:47:36
Kate Rumsey
I don't know, Olivia, are you going to go? or are you going to be
00:47:39
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.
00:47:43
Alexander Clark
Mm-hmm.
00:47:48
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.
00:47:57
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.
00:48:08
Kate Rumsey
So it'll be great.
00:48:09
Olivia Julianna
That's so
Encouraging Community Involvement Among Young Voters
00:48:09
Olivia Julianna
cute.
00:48:09
Olivia Julianna
Mm-hmm.
00:48:10
Kate Rumsey
Yeah.
00:48:10
Alexander Clark
Kay, do you mind if I do a twist on the last word this time?
00:48:14
Kate Rumsey
Yeah, go for it.
00:48:15
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.
00:48:26
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.
00:48:39
Alexander Clark
In 2012, when I graduated from college, 51% of young Americans regularly engaged with their neighbors. Today, that number is 25%.
00:48:51
Kate Rumsey
Geez.
00:48:53
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.
00:49:10
Alexander Clark
So these are our people.
00:49:13
Kate Rumsey
These are people.
00:49:14
Alexander Clark
These are our people, but they're not talking to their neighbors.
00:49:14
Kate Rumsey
Yeah.
00:49:19
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.
00:49:32
Alexander Clark
I want you to address specifically 18 to 29 year old crowd.
00:49:32
Olivia Julianna
Oh
00:49:37
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
00:50:18
Kate Rumsey
You so
00:50:19
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.
00:50:46
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
Texas's Importance in Future Elections
00:51:09
Kate Rumsey
flip the state? Like why is this such an existential crisis for us?
00:51:12
Olivia Julianna
Do people want to win a presidential election ever again? Like, I mean...
00:51:16
Kate Rumsey
Right.
00:51:17
Olivia Julianna
We have population shifts that are happening.
00:51:17
Alexander Clark
Ever.
00:51:22
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.
00:51:47
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.
00:51:54
Kate Rumsey
Yeah.
00:51:57
Alexander Clark
Now you said we, you might win the US house back just from the the seats we could pick up here.
00:52:02
Olivia Julianna
Yeah.
00:52:04
Alexander Clark
But I mean, come 2030, we get another five seats.
00:52:06
Olivia Julianna
Yeah. I mean, this
00:52:07
Alexander Clark
Will we, could we even have a majority if we don't do better in Texas?
00:52:13
Olivia Julianna
100%. Listen. Listen. As goes Texas, so goes the nation. As the old saying says. Hmm.
00:52:19
Alexander Clark
Amen.
00:52:22
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?
00:52:33
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.
00:52:43
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.
00:52:57
Kate Rumsey
And I'll say God bless Texas.