Everywhere I go, I do my best to tell the stories of the inspiring Texans I’ve met across the state — people fighting every day to overcome the cruelty of our state leaders and create something better for generations to come.
I’m confident that if more people hear these stories, they’ll be less inclined to succumb to despair as Texas Republicans turn our state into a laboratory for extremism, and they’ll be inspired to join the fight to take back our state.
That’s why I recently joined Dan Le Batard’s South Beach Sessions podcast — so I could share these stories with millions of listeners across the country who might not otherwise be paying attention to what’s happening in Texas politics.
What I didn’t expect when I sat down for the show was that we would also talk about the complicated relationships we have with our parents and children, how we endure the loss of loved ones, and what motivates us to do the work we do.
Dan lost his brother to cancer just two days before the taping. He talked openly about it and told me that the loss forced him to think about the limited time we have on this planet with those closest to us.
As I shared my own experience with pain and loss — the death of my sister, the loss of my dad, my mom’s ongoing fight with cancer — I realized anew that these personal experiences are the basis for my political work.
Why do we fight to improve access to healthcare, reduce gun violence, and ensure everyone has the right to vote? We fight because we care about people, because we are moved by both the love and loss of those closest to us, because our hearts are open to the world around us.
This wasn’t a typical conversation about politics. There wasn’t a single question about who was ahead, who was behind, or what the next election will look like. And yet connecting at the most basic level — What’s more important than family? What’s more devastating than losing a loved one? — reminded me of what we are really talking about when we talk about politics, and who we’re fighting for when we run for office or volunteer to knock on doors and register voters.
With gratitude to be in this fight with you,
— Beto
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