With campaigns up and down the ballot disrupted by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Texas Democrats are trying to keep the ball rolling and continue preparation for the party’s offensive in November.
This week, Texas Democrats announced a series of new initiatives that will allow the party to continue organizing and informing voters despite social distancing requirements.
“Right now, we really want to shift our focus to being a service organization,” Olivia Stitilis, the party’s organizing director told the Signal. “Hearing from folks on the ground, experiencing it ourselves, this feeling of misinformation, disconnection, worry, fear. We wanted to build up some programs that, in a time where people feel so disconnected, establish a way to bring people together.”
First and foremost, the party has launched a new online community program named “Connect Texas,” creating forums and communication channels for Texas’ 254 counties with the purpose of informing and organizing voters.
The party is also launching virtual town halls, where Texans can dial in to communicate with candidates and elected officials. It’s also created a growing list of local community resources to help Texans through the pandemic.
“We really feel that through these programs we’ve been able to not lose a sense of our mission, to not lose a sense of focus — we definitely are very clear-eyed about what we need to do to win in November, but we are also very focused on what we can do now,” Stitilis said.
You can listen to the full interview in the Signal’s upcoming podcast this Friday.
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
