Dominic Madera ’21

MJ Hegar for Texas, Austin, TX

This summer, I worked on MJ Hegar’s campaign for U.S. Senate in Texas. Through the course of the internship, I learned about the challenges and possibilities of campaigning for progressive policy in traditionally-conservative places like Texas. It was an incredible opportunity to meet talented organizers, strategists, and volunteers who renewed my faith in how campaigns can function.

I’m pretty cynical when it comes to Texas politics, as are most progressives in my state. While I love my home, I’m also sober about its political reality: Texas has not elected a Democrat statewide since 1994. It has been even longer since Texas voted for a Democrat for president, voting for Jimmy Carter in by a point in 1976. I recognize that things have changed in Texas—and quickly, in 2018 Houston was a sea of Beto O’Rourke signs—yet before my internship, it was difficult to believe anything but the status quo as possible.

Working with MJ and the team has re-energized and made me hopeful for what lies ahead in the Lone Star State. The team was passionate, consistent, and super willing to let me work creatively in my internship role. MJ herself was incredibly kind and treated every intern with respect and kindness. All of the interns, myself included, were inspired by MJ’s story of advocating for the end of Gender Discrimination in the Armed Forces. It was wonderful to see that not only is inspiring but down-to-earth and open to hearing from interns. This reflected the kind of community-oriented culture in the campaign.

On top of this, this internship offered me the chance to see the nuts and bolts of campaign work. Building a campaign is a daunting task. It is like building a multi-million dollar business that is 
also a social movement, non-profit, and policy 
think tank. Being on the front-end of the campaign required versatility. My supervisors gave me the freedom to work in everything from communications, digital organizing, volunteer-
coordinating, campaign financing, and research.

We worked in downtown Austin in a transitional space and its setup allowed the team to work 
together while we transitioned to an independent 
space closer to the city. It is where we set up the building blocks of a statewide race for the U.S. Senate.

I worked across all areas of the campaign but primarily worked on political communications. This involved fielding press requests, compiling lists of GOP activists and social media accounts of GOP County Chairs and parties and doing daily tasks to help ensure all stakeholders in the campaign were on the same page about what was said in the press about MJ. Each day, I compiled press clips of all candidates in the Texas Senate Race. These press clips helped us do several things. First, press clips help campaigns determine what kind of narratives exist about the candidates over time. In understanding what pundits are saying, we can then be intentional with language in our press releases, re-emphasize policy positions, and better understand the kinds of assumptions media outlets are making about the candidates in the race. Second, they allow us to track what outlets, and reporters, are talking about the senate race. This helped us to update our press lists, reach out to the publications that are not covering the race, and make sure the narratives about the race reflected the realities about what MJ stands for.

MJ speaking at the Bay Area Democrats’ Club.

I also gauged voter attitudes by monitoring our infobox email. Each day, I read hundreds of emails from supporters of the campaign. This was both a rewarding and daunting task. So many people who reached out were uninsured or economically insecure, but so many of those same people were committed to helping us register voters and fight for progressive policy. We received emails from civil rights groups, veterans, former Republicans, Moms Demand Action, and one local celebrity chef.

In a smaller capacity, I also did research for the third fundraising quarter of this year, conducted political research, and established communication between progressive activists and campaign staffers. All of these roles together allowed me to cultivate skills at the intersection of organizing, public relations, research, and the non-profit world.

My interest in political science has always been about people: how can people collectively organize for 
equity, justice, and greater access for the minoritized. It is easy to primarily reside in theory in the class-
room, but working with MJ Hegar’s campaign helped me outline real-world means of political organizing. 
I am enthusiastic about bringing these skills back to the Williams community. I do not know what I intended to do after I graduate, but this internship gave me ample transferable skills for anything from activism to non-profit work.

None of this would have been possible were it not for the generous support of the Estate of George Mead. I am deeply thankful that the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program exists as it has allowed me to pursue my passion for organizing and progressive politics. I am beyond grateful.