No matter how much money they have, people power wins with love every time,
said JJ Ramirez, an organizer for [VOCAL-TX], while addressing a crowd gathered outside a West Lake Hills compound affiliated with billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday.
Approximately 60 people attended the People Over Billionaires Election After Party,
an event organized by VOCAL-TX in collaboration with Popular Democracy and People’s Action. The demonstrators gathered at the compound to celebrate the results of the midterm election, specifically noting that a massive amount of campaign spending by Musk failed to secure victories for his preferred candidates.
During this election cycle, Musk spent approximately $474 million through donations to political action committees, Republican candidates, and outside spending organizations. Of that total, about $212 million was directed toward supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. However, Paxton lost his bid for a U.S. Senate seat to Democrat James Talarico, a former representative for the Austin area in the Texas House.
Celebrations and Protests at the Gates
The festivities began at noon when attendees arrived in a dozen cars and two blue Fly-Rides party buses from downtown. The hour-long event featured music, speeches, and dancing, including a congo line to celebrations involving inflatable costumes, birthday party hats, and the breaking of star-shaped and Tesla Cybertruck-shaped piñatas. While Austin police were present to supervise the gathering, the event remained peaceful.
We’re here celebrating Texans showing up en masse against MAGA’s agenda, up against billionaires’ interest in elections and celebrating real democracy,
said Eli Cortez, 28, a bus captain for VOCAL-TX.
Other attendees expressed exhaustion with the influence of billionaire wealth. Stephanie Frizzell, 51, who traveled from Dallas, said she is tired of billionaires buying the country.
Similarly, attendee Jorge Renaud noted pride in the election results, including those of Talarico and Gina Hinojosa.
Musk Criticizes Talarico and Reacts to Election Results
Musk, who owns the social network X, used his platform to encourage voting for Republican senators and to criticize Talarico. Following the election results, Musk posted on X, Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,
accompanied by a shrug emoji, and later replied to his own post with an image stating, Sorry! We are experiencing technical difficulties.
The election results changed the direction of Texas politics. Prior to this cycle, the last Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas was Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, and the last Democrat elected governor of the state was Ann Richards in 1990.