Three prominent Texas Democrats brought a fiery populist message to the Texas Panhandle on Sunday, June 22, drawing a full house at the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts in Amarillo. The event marked the latest stop in the Fighting Oligarchy tour, a national movement aimed at rallying working-class voters around anti-corporate, pro-labor values.
Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar of Austin, and newly elected Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder headlined the rally, urging voters to challenge both major parties’ ties to corporate interests and reclaim power through grassroots organizing.
“This town amazes me,” O’Rourke said in a walk-and-talk interview following the rally. “Amarillo never disappoints — but today was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The crowd was huge, the energy was overwhelming, and this kind of turnout in a place like Amarillo? That gets national attention.”
Although U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was originally scheduled to appear in person, he addressed the audience via livestream due to foreign policy briefings in Washington following escalating tensions in the Middle East. O’Rourke and Casar said Sanders’ absence only reinforced the urgency of the moment.
“He still made time to speak to people in the Panhandle,” O’Rourke said. “That says a lot. And this isn’t his first time here — he’s no stranger to this region.”
Casar, whose district includes parts of San Antonio and Austin, said he personally advocated for bringing the tour to Amarillo and emphasized that Democrats need to show up in places too often written off.
“Too often, folks here haven’t heard a pro-worker, anti-billionaire message from their elected officials,” Casar said. “There are people in North Texas who don’t feel represented by either party. They’re tired of being told who’s on their side while their costs go up and their voices go unheard.”
A former labor organizer and chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Casar framed his remarks around economic justice and coalition-building, arguing that progressives should focus on uniting working people even when they disagree on some social issues.
“We may not agree on everything,” he said, “but we can agree that the richest people on Earth don’t deserve another tax break while folks in Amarillo are working overtime shifts and still falling behind. We need a movement that centers on working families — not Wall Street hedge funds and corporate lobbyists.”
Casar also took aim at the influence of money in politics and challenged Republicans to match his pledge of refusing corporate PAC donations.
“I don’t take corporate PAC money — and I never will,” Casar said. “Ronny Jackson takes it. Greg Abbott is swimming in it. I’d welcome any Texas Republican to join me in banning corporate spending in our elections. But they won’t.”
He criticized Trump’s immigration policies, calling them harmful to working communities like Amarillo.
“People here told us about parents being pulled out of meatpacking plants — moms and dads who’ve been part of this community for years,” Casar said. “That’s not about border security. That’s about cruelty and broken promises.”
Casar added that even Republicans should be alarmed by recent reports of citizens and legal residents being wrongly detained or deported.
“Trump deported a man with an autism awareness tattoo after someone called it a gang symbol. He deported a U.S. citizen,” Casar said. “This is a failed immigration system being abused for political gain.”
Scudder, elected Texas Democratic Party chair in March, said his mission is to rebuild trust in overlooked communities. The 35-year-old, one of the youngest party chairs in the country, has visited 44 counties since taking office.
“We’re not going to win back Texas by staying in Austin and Houston,” Scudder said. “When we don’t show up in places like Amarillo, we leave the field open for Republicans to define us. We’re changing that.”
He said his focus is on returning the party to its working-class roots.
“I come from a family that only had electricity and clean water because of the New Deal,” Scudder said. “That’s the Democratic Party I believe in — one that fights for everyday people, not just the folks at the top.”
O’Rourke also praised local organizers who have pushed back against conservative policies, including those who helped defeat a proposed abortion travel ban in Amarillo last year. He pointed to leaders like Karmyn Seaberg and Ali Ramos, a queer, disabled social worker who ran for city council.
“People here aren’t waiting for change to come to them — they’re out there making it happen,” O’Rourke said. “That kind of spirit is what makes Amarillo special. And it’s a story more people need to hear.”
The tour continues this week with stops in Kansas and Missouri, but for the Democrats who took the stage Sunday, Amarillo stood out as more than just a stop along the way.
“This was a breakthrough moment,” Scudder said. “If we can fill a theater in Amarillo, then no one can tell us this movement doesn’t belong in every corner of Texas.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Democrats rally full house in Amarillo to fight corporate influence
Reporting by Michael Cuviello, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
