Is a "Blue McLennan County" a reasonable goal?

Hello, and welcome to the fourth edition of Waco Can’t Wait, a progressive newsletter focusing on McLennan County, Texas, and Federal politics. Waco Cant Wait’s inaugural month has been very humbling, and I am so excited for what the new year holds. In the meantime, I am looking forward to my two weeks of rest with my Wife, my Family, and my Schnauzer.

So that y’all can be prepared, I do not plan on releasing a full newsletter on December 26th (the day after Christmas). Joe Manchin willing, I do not anticipate anything newsworthy to happen over the next week. Instead, I will be releasing Waco Can’t Wait’s first interview!

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to speak with Victoria Volker, a queer pastor and Co-Founder of Lady Justice House, an LGBTQ+ centered congregation in Waco. We spoke about her coming into her queer and christian identity, the challenges of starting a new church community, and what role the church can play in supporting LGBTQ+ youth in a state that is increasingly hostile towards their existence.

Finally, in a county as tough as McLennan, Democrats and Progressives need to think about the most efficient way to organize our efforts to get maximum results. A good way to do this is to set a goal, and for many that goal is to flip McLennan County blue. I would like to argue that this isn’t the best way to conceptualize how our time should be spent, and I will argue that we should be working towards more attainable short-term goals that are instrumental to eventually flipping McLennan County. But first, let’s look at the news!

Week in review (a collection of news from Waco, Texas, and beyond)

Waco:

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and not just because the holidays are right around the corner. The deadline for candidates to file for partisan offices closed this last Monday, and we can now see the landscape of Democratic Candidates running for office1. Looking to the local seats with Democratic challengers:

• Cuevas Peacock, Director of Community Relations at Baylor University, will face off against Cedric Davis, Marlin’s City Manager, in the Democratic Primary for Texas House District 13.

• Erin Shank, a Waco bankruptcy attorney and Democratic activist, is challenging incumbent Republican Charles “Doc” Anderson for Texas House District 56.

• Precinct 2 County Commissioner Pat Miller will

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