Bringing the Blue Wave to Texas one door at a time
“I think in general my voters are hopeful for change,” says Kimberly Villalobos, a Progressive Turnout Project Field Representative in Texas’ 7th Congressional District (TX-07). “They know that change doesn’t happen on its own.”
Kimberly, a graduate of Texas A&M University with a BA in political science, was first introduced to TX-07 as an intern for a Congressional Campaign in this west/northwest Houston-area District. Time spent working in the District only strengthened her conviction that TX-07 must go blue in November. 
Since 2000, the District has been represented by Freedom Caucus Republican John Culberson, who voted against the Affordable Care Act and is in support of President Trump’s immigration policies.
According to FiveThirtyEight Politics, though the “natural state of the District is Republican,” Donald Trump’s representation of the Republican Party in the 2016 Presidential election resulted in a significant number of traditionally Republican voters putting their support behind the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton.
Challenging Culberson for TX-07 is Democratic candidate Lizzie Fletcher, a Houston native who has practiced law in the city since 2006. She has been recognized for her pragmatism and on-the-ground experience as a pro-bono lawyer working toward “dismantling the Student-to-Prison Pipeline.” Fletcher also has a long-time affiliation with Planned Parenthood and is committed to protecting women’s reproductive rights in Texas and nationally.
Almost a year ago, in November 2017, The Cook Political Report changed the Congressional race rating from Lean Republican to Toss-Up.
“Lizzie [Fletcher] is a force to be reckoned with,” says Kimberly. “She won a saturated primary race and has been mobilizing not only through grassroots outreach, but also through social media.”
As for the Senate candidate, Democrat Beto O’Rourke, Kimberly says, “Beto [O’Rourke] is honest, trustworthy, and hardworking. I think above all else, Beto [O’Rourke] sees past partisan lines and reminds us that at the end of the day we want what is best for Texas and its people.”
O’Rourke is challenging failed presidential candidate and incumbent Senator Ted Cruz. Despite Texas’ history as a traditionally red state, in recent weeks The Cook Political Report has changed its rating of the Senate race from Lean Republican to Toss-Up.
On October 11th, the Progressive Turnout Project announced that it had “spent more than $570,000 on a get-out-the-vote mail program in support of Beto O’Rourke for U.S. Senate.” The program “is designed to turn out inconsistent Democrat voters as well as first-time registrants who may be less familiar with the voting process.”
“Democrats have a real opportunity to win the majority in the Senate but to get there we have to play offense and mobilize our turnout voters,” says Alex Morgan, Executive Director of the Progressive Turnout Project.
Kimberly agrees. “[Fletcher and O’Rourke] have both run stellar campaigns and I believe there is a real likelihood that they will win this November,” she says.
In her experience “block walking” – knocking on doors and speaking with voters – Kimberly has found that, “Some voters don’t wait to be asked questions and automatically answer the door by saying, ‘I’m a democrat and I’m voting!’ Other voters need some time to open up about their voting habits.”
According to Kimberly, District voters “are voting to keep our leaders accountable; they are voting for human rights; they are voting for an inclusive not exclusive United States; and they are voting for the future of their children.”
One voter told Kimberly very simply that he was voting because “there is no reason not to vote.”
Kimberly and the rest of the Progressive Turnout Team will be working hard through the November election to spread the message that not only is there no reason not to vote, in fact there’s every reason to vote!
“This win will confirm what our committed voters already know: that voting is powerful, and that it is what we need to fight back,” says Kimberly. “This win could also redefine what the United States thinks about Texas and become part of the Blue Wave rolling through our country.”
