📲 Texas Democrats, Get Your Digital Sh*t Together
A Texas-sized Social Media Opportunity
Earlier this year, I went full political data nerd. I spent dozens of hours crawling through the internet like a caffeinated sleep deprived raccoon, searching for every single Texas elected official’s social media footprint. I checked X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, Threads, TikTok, and YouTube.
What did I find? A digital graveyard of outdated bios, inactive accounts, confusing usernames, broken links, and politicians trying to govern in 2025 with the digital strategy of 2005. Some officials didn’t even have accounts. Others had pages so neglected they looked like an abandoned MySpace profile.
Here’s What I Learned (a.k.a. the part where I gently scream into the digital void):
While national Republicans seem like they're everywhere—flooding your feed with rage-bait videos and culture war nonsense—Texas Republicans? They're flopping hard in the social media department. That’s actually great news for Texas Democrats—if we’re smart enough to seize the moment in 2026.
Here’s the breakdown:
Every Texas elected official has a Facebook page and X/Twitter account. Congratulations, you passed 2012.
About 90% are on Instagram, which is promising—but mostly underutilized.
Only Democrats are on BlueSky (because of course we are).
And only a handful of Republicans have claimed usernames on Threads—likely because Zuck gives them the ick.
But here’s where the real opportunity lies: In 2026, we’re expecting explosive growth on YouTube, TikTok, and even Substack (yes, newsletters are sexy again).
⚠️ Quick caveat: TikTok’s future in the U.S. is still murky due to the Oracle acquisition drama, so keep your eyes peeled there.
See video:
Now brace yourself: Very few Texas Democrats—and even fewer Republicans—are on these platforms at all. It’s basically a wide-open frontier. And it seems like Texas Republicans are just outsourcing their messaging to far-right influencers instead of showing up themselves.
This is a tactical error on their part—and an opening for us.
If Texas Democrats get their act together, we can fill that void with authentic, people-first storytelling that reaches voters where they actually live—on their phones. Because here’s the deal: Most Texans aren’t watching cable news. They’re watching TikToks while brushing their teeth and YouTube while cooking dinner. They’re reading Substacks on their lunch breaks. On average a person spends 1 hour per day on TikTok and even longer on YouTube.
This is our shot to own that space, especially in places where face-to-face organizing is tough.
Yours in Resistance,
Nancy Thompson