The True Majority Showed Up: Black and Latino Texans Power a Historic Blue Wave Across Texas

Last night, on stage at his victory celebration, Senator-elect James Talarico shook hands with TOP Executive Director Brianna Brown and said, “I couldn’t have done this without TOP!” He was right. Up and down the ballot, TOP-endorsed candidates won, from Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa and Talarico at the top of the ticket to County Judges Letitia Plummer, Dexter McCoy, Alisa Simmons and Clay Jenkins, riding a wave built door by door.

AUSTIN, TX – Texas just changed. Last night, Black and Latino Texans, the true majority of this state, showed up and powered a historic blue wave from the Governor’s Mansion to the county courthouse. Every candidate Texas Organizing Project PAC (TOP) endorsed for statewide office and county judge won. For more than 15 years, TOP has organized toward a Texas rewritten by its true majority. On Tuesday, that majority picked up the pen and wrote it.

“Black and Latino Texans understood the assignment,” said Brianna Brown, Executive Director of Texas Organizing Project. “This wasn’t a squeaker. It was a bodyslam. We have always said Texas belongs to its true majority, and last night our communities proved it. Our members knocked doors, made calls, drove neighbors to the polls, and refused to be counted out, even when leaders tried to make voting harder. That is solidarity. That is our people leading boldly and shaping the future of this state. And we are not done. The work continues.”

• Gina Hinojosa, Governor. Hinojosa defeated three-term Governor Greg Abbott. She will be the first Democratic governor of Texas since Ann Richards left office in 1995, and the first Latina ever to lead the state.
• James Talarico, U.S. Senate. Talarico defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton, becoming the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1988 and ending Republicans’ three-decade grip on statewide office.
• Dr. Letitia Plummer, Harris County Judge. Plummer defeated Orlando Sanchez with about 61% of the vote. She is the first Black woman and first Muslim elected to lead Texas’ most populous county.
• Dexter McCoy, Fort Bend County Judge. McCoy defeated Daniel Wong with nearly 60% of the vote, bringing steady leadership to a county that has weathered a turbulent year.
• Alisa Simmons, Tarrant County Judge. Simmons unseated incumbent Tim O’Hare with 56.4% of the vote. She is the first Democrat to hold the seat in 40 years and the first Black person and first woman to lead the county.
• Clay Jenkins, Dallas County Judge. Jenkins won a fifth term with about 70% of the vote, defeating Mike Immler and keeping Texas’ second-largest county in proven hands.
• Tiffany Burks, Tarrant County District Attorney. Burks unseated incumbent Phil Sorrells in a rematch of their 2022 race and will be the first Black person to hold the office.

A promise kept

When TOP endorsed James Talarico, he named exactly what it would take to win Texas:

“I am honored to have the endorsement of the Texas Organizing Project. We are building a coalition to win in Texas — and that must include the working-class Black and Latino Texans who have the most to lose if we fail and the most to gain if we win. TOP has spent over 15 years building the kind of deep, trusting relationships with those communities that no campaign can manufacture in a few months. That infrastructure is irreplaceable. Winning Texas requires meeting people where they are, in their neighborhoods, at their doors, in their language. TOP does that work better than anyone in this state…”

On Tuesday, that coalition did not just show up. It took over. Black and Latino neighbors in Harris, Fort Bend, Tarrant, Dallas, and beyond organized side by side, at the doors, at the polls, and in their own language. That is solidarity in action.

The numbers do not lie. TOP canvassers knocked on 248,767 doors across three counties: 115,245 in Tarrant, 96,377 in Harris, and 37,145 in Fort Bend. In all three, TOP-endorsed county judges won. Every door was a conversation with a neighbor about what is at stake for their family. Every door helped build the wave.
That is our people leading boldly and shaping the future of this state. And we are not done. The work continues.”

Tarrant County flipped

No county tells this story louder than Tarrant, long called the largest Republican county in America. Months after the Commissioners Court voted 3-2 to eliminate nearly 100 polling locations, with Simmons voting no, TOP answered by knocking 110,160 doors. Voters answered by electing Alisa Simmons as the county’s first Black and first woman County Judge, electing Tiffany Burks as its first Black District Attorney, and sweeping every contested countywide race. They tried to make it harder to vote. Tarrant voted them out.

The work continues

This wave was not luck, and it is not the finish line. Elections are one tool in a much bigger fight. TOP exists to build power with Black and Latino Texans through community organizing, leadership development, and civic engagement, and that mission does not end when the polls close. Guided by its values of Solidarity, Visionary, and Regeneration, TOP will hold every one of these leaders accountable to the issues that brought voters out: lowering costs for working families, expanding access to healthcare, and building a justice system that keeps communities safe without criminalizing them. TOP will keep organizing in the same neighborhoods it has for more than 15 years, developing new leaders and renewing the power our communities built this year, until Black and Latino working-class Texans live with the dignity, safety, and power we’ve always deserved.

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Brianna Brown, Executive Director of Texas Organizing Project (TOP) in observance of Indigenous People’s Day this year:

“Today and everyday, Texas Organizing Project lifts up the humanity and celebrates the unshakeable resolve of our Indigenous communities, as they are irreplaceable to fully realizing the multiracial democracy our movement rooted in liberation aspires to build. 

“TOP’s solidarity with our Indigenous brothers and sisters is as steadfast as ever, especially at a time when the Trump administration is shamelessly proposing the slashing of tribal government budgets and opening protected ancestral lands to resource extraction.

“These are the destructive legacies of colonization and white supremacy once more rearing their ugly heads — legacies that we as Black and Latino organizers committed to racial and economic justice are all too familiar with. This is why it’s imperative we work alongside Indigenous communities to dismantle institutional racism, full stop.

“Through this, we are building power, transforming lives, and winning change. This is why we are stronger together.”

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Brianna Brown, Executive Director of Texas Organizing Project (TOP), offered the following statement:

“Our hearts are heavy to hear of the passing of former State Representative Garnet Coleman. A steadfast public servant and supporter of our organization’s mission since its inception, TOP staff and members offer our sincerest condolences to his loved ones.

“Rep. Coleman was a fighter for all communities across Harris County — especially those historically marginalized — being a staunch defender of the rights of his constituents. 

“From affordable healthcare access, to public education, to community-driven urban redevelopment, his command of the issues impacting everyday working Texans was undeniable, earning him a Community Champion Award from our organization in 2014.

“A vocal advocate for health reform particularly, his efforts were instrumental during the rollout of the Affordable Care Act in Texas, as he was a fierce backer of Medicaid expansion for our state.

“Rep. Coleman’s presence and strong leadership in Houston will be deeply missed.”

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Andrea Osorio, TOP member in San Antonio, provided the following statement:

“Our state and nation would not be the same without Latinos. Our contributions to the United States – cultural, economic, political, and more – are vast and span centuries. We care about our families, our communities, and our collective future.

“While certain politicians try to divide us, pit us against other communities, and strip us of our rights, we Latinos continue to organize for a better tomorrow rooted in justice, humanity, and shared prosperity.

“Our voices will be heard and our movement will not be stopped.”

Julio McCall, TOP member in Houston, added:

“At TOP, we understand our fates as Latinos are linked with those of our Black brothers and sisters. As an Afro-Latino who has for years called this country home, I know this connection full well, as it is my lived experience.

“This is the power of solidarity and how vital it is to our shared strength, especially at a time when Latino, Afro-Latino, and Black communities are being targeted by government budget cuts and regressive policies that seek to diminish us.

“That’s why no matter what country we’re from, the color of our skin, or the language we speak, we always have been – and always will be – stronger together. And through working together and learning from one another, there is nothing out of our reach.”

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Christina Quintero, member of Texas Organizing Project (TOP) in Houston, shared the following statement:

“Today is a bold reminder that it’s our labor, the work of everyday people, that drives this state and nation forward in every way possible. 

“As workers, our collective power is invaluable, and no politician — from city hall to the White House — will ever strip us of the dignity that’s inherently ours.

“No matter your age, race, gender, where you’re from, or who you pray to, we as Texans know our worth, and we are worth so much more than what anti-worker elected leaders who are beholden to billionaires would have us believe.

“It’s these same billionaires who want us divided and distracted, because they recognize that when workers rise together and stand united, we can override their influence to win the future we want.”

Pearline Harper, TOP member in Dallas, added:

“This administration is a mess, and the cost of living is only increasing. From crippling our economy with tariffs, to decimating the federal workforce, Trump and MAGA officials are as anti-worker as ever.

“It’s up to us to continue to show up and send a message that there is power in numbers through collective action — including our votes. When we show unwavering solidarity, our political power is unstoppable.

“Organizing alongside allies, nothing will stop our push for the fair treatment all working people deserve.”

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