Vote Like A Texan Launches Statewide Platform for Candidate Interviews

Vote Like A Texan, a new statewide election-year media initiative, officially launched this week as hundreds of Texas candidates enter races across the state. The platform is now open for candidates to schedule virtual interviews that will be distributed nationally and optimized for voter search and discovery. Hosted by Justin McKenzie of The Building Texas Show, the initiative aims to provide voters with accessible information about candidates seeking office at all levels of government.

"As Texas communities grow, school boards set priorities, and city councils vote on ordinances that impact daily life, it's more important than ever for voters to hear directly from the individuals seeking to lead," said McKenzie. "I saw the opportunity to create a platform where every candidate — from local offices to statewide positions — can share their message in a searchable format that voters can easily find whether they're using ChatGPT, AI tools, or Google." The platform addresses a growing need for trustworthy information about community decision-makers that McKenzie identified through years of interviewing Texas leaders.

Vote Like A Texan provides candidates with a dedicated virtual podcast episode and a supporting press release, helping them articulate their vision in their own words. Each episode is structured to be discoverable, ensuring that when Texans search for information about local races or candidates, they'll find clear, thoughtful interviews designed to inform and inspire participation. The initiative's straightforward mission is to educate, inform, and encourage Texans to vote in primaries, run-offs, and the November general election.

The implications of this platform are significant for Texas democracy. By making candidate interviews easily searchable through tools like Google and AI assistants, Vote Like A Texan could reduce information barriers that often prevent voters from learning about down-ballot candidates. Local elections for school boards and city councils frequently see lower voter turnout despite having substantial impact on community life, and this initiative directly addresses that gap. The platform's structure allows candidates at all funding levels to share their messages equally, potentially leveling the playing field in races where name recognition and campaign budgets typically determine visibility.

For voters, the platform offers a centralized resource to compare candidates' positions without relying on campaign advertisements or potentially biased third-party summaries. The interview format allows candidates to explain their platforms in detail, providing nuance that brief campaign statements often lack. As artificial intelligence tools become more integrated into information searches, optimizing content for discovery through platforms like ChatGPT ensures that voters using emerging technologies can still access reliable candidate information. This approach represents an adaptation of traditional voter education methods to contemporary information consumption patterns.

The initiative builds on McKenzie's experience with The Building Texas Show, which has featured wide-ranging conversations with elected officials, business leaders, and Texans shaping the state's future. By applying this interview expertise specifically to electoral politics, Vote Like A Texan creates a non-partisan space for candidate discourse. The platform's success will depend on candidate participation across the political spectrum and voter engagement with the resulting content, but its launch represents an innovative approach to strengthening democratic participation through media technology.