Skip to main content
Texas 2022 Elections

Watch: Two rising stars in Texas politics urge more young voters to participate ahead of the election

Democrat Olivia Julianna and Republican Joel Castro talk about why other young Texans should get involved in politics.

Republish

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

In Texas, people ages 18-29 make up 22% percent of the voting-age population, but the group represents only 14% of voters, according to data from Tufts University. With a state election approaching, two young Texans are using their political platforms to motivate their peers to get involved.

After U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida body-shamed 19-year-old Houston activist Olivia Julianna on Twitter in July, she asked her 300,000 Twitter followers to donate to the Gen Z for Change abortion fund. She has since helped raise over $2 million for Gen Z for Change, which supports 50 abortion funds across the country.

South of Houston, Republican Joel Castro, 23, was elected to the Alvin City Council at age 18. Then the youngest Republican elected official in Texas, he served as council member while studying criminal justice in college and working part-time as a tutor at Alvin High School. He won a second term in 2019.

Both Julianna and Castro say that their generation has strong ideas about politics and that it is important to encourage young people to show up to vote in the November election.

Wait! We need your help.

More than 2 million people read Texas Tribune articles every month, but only 12,000 of those readers also donate to support the news they count on. Not even 1% of readers! If you are one of the 99% of Texas Tribune readers who hasn’t made a donation before in support of independent Texas news, you can change that today. A small donation makes a big impact.

Our Spring Member Drive is an important time to help our newsroom plan for what resources will be available for them to tackle longer investigations and bigger projects later this year. Texas Tribune journalists need the support of readers to write the articles, take the photographs and create the data visualizations that impact Texans and Texas policy.

We have a goal to have 500 readers become Texas Tribune members during our Spring Member Drive. As the Tribune member community grows, the journalism you read here is better protected. Will you make a donation today to show your support of independent Texas news?

DONATE NOW

Information about the authors

Fabiana Chaparro’s staff photo

Fabiana Chaparro

Scripps Howard Multimedia Fellow

Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.

Explore related story topics

Politics