Crunch time

While the numbers are impressive, they won’t matter if we don’t deliver numbers at the ballot box.”

We’re heading into the final weeks of the 2022 mid-term election campaign, and, simply put, it is crunch time. How many more layers of regulation can our industry take if we fail to get more bankers to the polls? Do we hope that 150,000 bank employees in Texas turn out? Do we hope things go well? 

We would be wise to heed the adage “Hope is not a strategy.” 

For months, TBA has executed on a political plan focused on raising the resources necessary to preserve a pro-business, bank-friendly environment in Texas and to support candidates who can make a difference nationally. In August alone, over 1,100 individual donors contributed through BankPac campaigns led by Texas community banks! It has been inspiring to see TBA members take action that will help amplify the voice of our industry at the state and federal levels. Thank you!

We will always focus on Texas first. But the reality is that there are many races outside of Texas that will impact who controls Congress and, therefore, the banking agenda and oversight of regulators in Washington for the next two years. That is why TBA Chairman Ford Sasser presented a $152,000 check to ABA’s PAC to impact key races across the nation. The TBA contribution was the largest made by any state banking association in America. 

While the numbers are impressive, they won’t matter if we don’t deliver numbers at the ballot box. The Texas banking industry is in position to be a powerful voting block, but only if we mobilize our bankers and energize their spheres of influence with family, friends and customers. 

There is a buoyant Churchill quote: “Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.” TBA has created a toolkit to help CEOs and executive bank leaders make a difference and get their employees — all employees — out to vote. The TBA toolkit includes a customizable sample letter for you to send to your staff that shares critical voting information and links. More importantly, it will help communicate what is at stake in this year’s election and how they can help elect candidates who understand the critical role of Texas banks to families, small businesses and our state’s economy. 

You won’t be telling your employees who to vote for. But you will be helping them ask the right questions to determine which candidates support their livelihoods, families and the communities they serve. View the toolkit at www.texasbankers.com/GOTV .

Texas bankers deliver for their hometowns and customers every day, especially in crunch time. Helping to elect common-sense leaders who support a vibrant and prosperous Texas is another way to do so. Let’s finish the job and get out the vote!