Our Story

Stephanie and Claire founded Blue Horizon Texas in 2021, after both running for Texas State House in heavily Republican districts in 2018 and 2020.
They both lost. Both times. But they did better the second time and pushed their opponents to the left. Neither incumbent sought re-election in 2022.
Their experience campaigning in long-held Republican districts, and discussions with many other candidates who ran in similar districts across the state, revealed systemic and structural gaps in the support networks for the new faces of Democratic and progressive candidates for state and local office. They resolved to work to fill the gaps to give others a better shot at success.

About Us
Our Mission
Recruit, prepare, and support Democratic and progressive candidates running in rural, exurban, and traditionally Republican districts in Texas by improving the support infrastructure, knowledge base, and resources available for non-traditional candidates in underinvested races across the state


Our Vision
An ever bigger blue horizon in Texas with candidate support for every district across the state
Meet Our Team
LEADERSHIP

Stephanie
Phillips
Co-Founder &
Executive Director
Stephanie is a two-time Democratic nominee for Texas House District 73, where she ran unapologetically progressive and low-budget campaigns and performed as well or better than up ticket races with six- and seven-figure budgets.
As Co-Executive Director of Blue Horizon Texas, Stephanie leads fundraising and development, outreach, and coalition building, Throughout her career in education, performing arts, and political and social movement organizing, she has consistently focused on systems change, building diverse coalitions, leadership development, and creative problem solving.

Claire
Barnett
Co-Founder &
Executive Director
Claire is a two-time Democratic nominee for Texas State House District 122, where she steadily increased Democratic vote share and pushed the Republican incumbent left on issues such as public school funding, Medicaid Expansion, and voting rights.
As Co-Executive Director of Blue Horizon Texas, Claire oversees learning and communications strategies, operations, and legal and board relations. She brings twenty years of experience in program and project management, strategic communications, learning programs, and technology platforms.
Our Volunteer Team

Carl Mason
Database Lead, Blue Ballot Data Project Lead
Bluebonnet Data Fellow

Charlotte Harris
Data Research Coordinator, Blue Ballot Data Project

Jessica Mann
Volunteer Coordinator
Three Sister Organizations
Growing a blue Texas requires a strategic plan with a commitment to making the long-term investments in community organizing and infrastructure building to elect Democrats and progressives statewide and in local communities. Blue Horizon's three sister organizations allow us to engage community leaders and prepare the candidates of tomorrow while also directly supporting the candidates of today.
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-PREPARE-
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PAC

Candidate Pipeline & Training
Blue Horizon Action Fund is a 501c4 nonprofit with a focus on Civic Education and Engagement. Our mission is to build a progressive candidate pipeline by inspiring, recruiting, and preparing diverse, local leaders to run for office in rural and exurban Texas.
PAC

Online Community & Volunteer Network
Blue Horizon Texas is a 527 non-profit that provides an online community for Democratic and progressive candidates, volunteers, county party chairs, and other coalition members to connect and access relevant and vetted campaign resources.
PAC

Direct Campaign Support
Blue Horizon Texas PAC is a Texas General Purpose Political Action Committee (GPAC) that provides direct support of Blue Horizon candidates, with a focus on campaign strategy, coaching, and data and field staffing.
Our 2024 Team

Tonya Lyles
Program Director
Podcast Creator & Producer

Heli Rodriguez Prilliman
Marketing & Engagement Advisor

Abel Jaimes
Outreach
Director
Our Partners
Blue Horizon works with national and state partners with complementary missions to optimize the results of our combined efforts. Here are some of the groups Blue Horizon has worked alongside.




























