Regardless of your party affiliation, I hope one lesson stays with us after yesterday: our participation matters. Here in Texas and across the country, people showed up to have a say in what comes next.
It’s easy to convince yourself that one vote won’t make a difference. That your community will always vote a certain way. That the outcome has already been decided.
But an election isn’t decided by what we assume everyone believes. It’s decided by the people who show up.
My grandfather spent more than 25 years in politics. He served as our town’s mayor, a city councilman, and on countless committees. Growing up, voting wasn’t optional in our house. It was expected. It was a responsibility you took seriously.
On my 18th birthday, I registered to vote.
And while my family, for the most part, voted straight down the party line, they never told me who to vote for. They taught me that voting mattered and trusted me to make that decision for myself.
That has stayed with me.
As an adult, I vote for the candidate I believe will best serve all the people. Including the people who disagree with them. Including the people who will never vote for them.
Sometimes that person is a Republican. Sometimes that person is a Democrat.
I look at the person. The issues. The grit. The heart. Their willingness to listen, to do the work, and to remember who they serve.
That’s what earns my vote.
You and I may look at the same candidates and reach different conclusions. We can disagree and still take our responsibility seriously. We can care deeply about our country and have different ideas about how to move it forward.
But I hope we never talk ourselves into believing our voices don’t count.
My grandfather helped teach me that years ago. It’s a lesson I carried into my first voting booth, and one I still carry today.
My vote matters. So does yours. Use it.
