Let’s be clear up front: This has been a tough year. Twelve months ago, we could not have imagined the pain, death and sorrow a pandemic would bring our nation and the rest of the world. Nor did we expect the shocking level of incompetence and denial from Republican leaders nationally and in Texas that have made the crisis even worse.

But despite all of this, it’s important to remember the progress we have made together this year. Here are a few of the steps forward that happened in 2020.

For the first time in decades, Texas was a presidential election battleground. Record turnout among young Texans was a major factor in this. TFN’s Texas Rising program played a big role, contacting more than 1.8 million potential voters under the age of 30 in our largest get-out-the-vote effort ever. Change is coming to our state, and young Texans are leading the way.

The wave of new voters this year led to important progressive victories in Texas. We saw progressives pick up important wins from the district attorney level to the state Senate. And a Texas Rising-endorsed progressive candidate flipped a State Board of Education seat… Read More

Today’s final votes on new health and science curriculum standards for Texas public schools prove that strong, ongoing activism can lead to progress. But they also make clear that a majority of the State Board of Education remains trapped in the culture war arguments of the past. Read More

The ballot counting in key states has served as an important reminder: Every vote matters. Now we know that change is coming for our nation after four long years of darkness and division. Achieving this milestone reflects the long-term organizing that has occurred in many states across the country. Our long-term organizing in Texas continues. …… Read More

The COVID-19 death toll -- at 215,000 so far in the United States -- should make pretty clear how important it is for elected leaders to follow the science on public health issues. But too many Texas Republicans have aligned themselves with ideological extremists and conspiracy theorists who are undermining an effective public health response to the crisis. Read More

The Texas lieutenant governor's disdain for science and experts in the fight against the rapidly worsening COVID-19 pandemic would be a joke if not for the deadly consequences. Now he's essentially telling the nation's top infectious disease doctor to shut up. Here's the truth: Dan Patrick is going to get more people killed. Read More