PDA Progressive Town Hall: July 13, 2025 with guests Clayton Tucker, Kristi Lara, & Jim Hightower

Progressive D Jul 14, 2025 Populism and the Fight to Save Texas, the USA, and the Dem Party: Recently, Bill Moyers passed away, one of the giants in the history of American TV reporting and journalism. Moyers was also one of the last of a seemingly diminishing breed, Texas Progressives. Once upon a time, Lone Star State progressives played a dominant role in national politics, with Moyers as Press Secretary and Texan Ramsey Clark as the Attorney General in Texan LBJ’s administration—and, when it comes to economic policy and the passage of civil rights legislation, few American Presidents were more progressive than LBJ on domestic policy. However, things have changed, and it has been a long time since any Democrat has held a statewide office in what is now the second most populous state in the country. This Sunday, we’ll discuss how circumstances may be ripe for an unexpected turn back toward progressive politics in Texas with Jim Hightower, the former Texas Agricultural Commissioner and the last statewide Democratic officeholder. And we’ll be joined by a great young progressive who is running for the same office in 2026, Clayton Tucker, and another new statewide progressive leader, Kristi Lara from the Progressive Caucus of the State Democratic Party. Indeed, Clayton’s campaign may be groundbreaking for the entire country, as he is championing a set of ideas for agricultural policy that harmonize with the ideas presented in PDA’s Rural New Deal—and that would represent a truly positive and progressive transformation for U.S. farmers, farm workers, and the communities where they reside. Additionally, we’ll update everyone on the all-important special election in AZ-7 on Tuesday and discuss how we can help PDA-endorsed candidate Adelita Grijalva triumph.