Elections

Hamilton Composer Lin-Manuel Miranda Draws Thousands for Texas Democrats Tuesday

Broadway star and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda campaigned Tuesday in Houston in a get-out-the-vote effort for Beto O’Rourke just days ahead of early voting, which starts next week. Miranda spent Tuesday campaigning for Democrats, first with a youth voting panel discussion at the University of Houston, then campaigning for Texas attorney general candidate, Rochelle Garza, at a reproductive rights rally.

Miranda said that Democratic Attorney General candidate Rochelle Garza would be the first Latina attorney general of Texas if elected. She spoke at the rally before O’Rourke came on stage.

Texas Democrats are hoping the award-winning Puerto Rican composer can motivate voters, especially young and Hispanic voters, to get to the polls as voter turnout is critical to their chances of winning statewide races.

Miranda tried to convey the significance of this election at the O’Rourke rally. “Everything is on the ballot for these young people,” said Miranda. “Their bodies are on the ballot. Gun control is on the ballot. Immigration is on the ballot. These are all issues they’re facing. If this room is any indication today, yeah, I hope they show up.”

O’Rourke attacked Abbott on guns, his Uvalde response, the electric grid, and reproductive rights. He implored his young supporters to make a plan to vote.

“They’re not on anybody’s radar, not on anybody’s poll, this campaign as of 2 weeks ago had already registered 70,000 college students, those are just college students from our fellows on college campuses across the state of Texas,” O’Rourke said. “I am confident young people are going to lead the way, as they always do, and they’re going to lead us to victory.”

Several students on the University of Houston panel talked about what was motivating them to vote this year. Several themes came up over and over including abortion rights, birth control, voter suppression and the inablity to use their student IDs to vote, mass shootings and gerrymandering.

Miranda spoke about his shock when Roe v Wade was overturned during the panel discussion. “I never in my lifetime imagined that would go backwards,” he said. “I never imagined that what was settled law could be undone. I find myself really shocked and saddened by that.” But, he continued, “I get a lot of hope talking to you guys here today.”

Miranda also attended an event for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, where he spoke about the importance of Latino voting.

Nick Anderson

Writer, editor, photographer and editorial cartoonist Nick Anderson has joined the Reform Austin newsroom, where he will employ the artistic skill and political insights that earned a Pulitzer Prize to drive coverage of Texas government. As managing editor, Anderson is responsible for guiding Reform Austin’s efforts to give readers the unfiltered facts they need to hold Texas leaders accountable. Anderson’s original cartoons will be a regular feature on RA News. “Reform Austin readers understand the consequences of electing politicians who use ideological agendas to divide us, when they should be doing the hard work necessary to make our state government work for everyone,” Anderson said. “As a veteran journalist, I’m excited about Reform Austin’s potential to re-focus conversations on the issues that matter to common-sense Texans – like protecting our neighborhoods from increasingly common disasters, healthcare, just to name a few.” Anderson worked for the Houston Chronicle, the largest newspaper in Texas, from 2006 until 2017. In addition to the Pulitzer, Anderson earned the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award. He’s also a two-time winner of Columbia College’s Fischetti Award, and the National Press Foundation’s Berryman Award. Anderson’s cartoons have been published in Newsweek, the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune and other papers. In 2005, Anderson won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning while working for the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky. The judges complimented his “unusual graphic style that produced extraordinarily thoughtful and powerful messages.”