By MATEUS FERREIRA/Head Writer
Senator Ted Cruz smiles into the camera. Marcus Emmanuel, president of the Young Democrats at UT Tyler, stands awkwardly next to him. The young man is looking off to the side — with a mischievous half-grin.
His hands are a blur as he opens the front of his jacket. The movement reveals sprawling words written in Sharpie on his white shirt.
“HE’S RACIST” it says with an arrow pointing directly at the unaware Senator.
“I’m proud of the photo,” Emmanuel said about the picture now pinned on his Instagram page with over 3,000 followers. “I don’t have any regrets.”
Only an 18-year-old freshman at UT Tyler, Emmanuel has had plenty of run-ins with politicians.
A post from March 2025, shows him standing with former Congressman Beto O’Rourke alongside Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
He also has posted pictures with 2026 Senate Candidates Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and State Rep. James Talarico. In another post, he smiles cheerily with Congressman Al Green.
Emmanuel has worked on campaigns, testified in front of the Texas Legislature, and is the national organizing director for the advocacy group Dream for America. He has ambition to rise to the top of the Democratic Party in Texas and potentially run for president.
With an upcoming debate against UT Tyler’s chapter of Turning Point USA, can this prospective member of the Democratic Party continue to kick-start his career in a conservative city like Tyler?
A Life Steeped in Politics
Before college, Emmanuel took over as the chair of Texas High School Democrats, an organization he described as “a shell of its former-self.” Building connections to the official Texas Democratic Party, he revived the dying group.
Using Kendall Scudder, the current chairman of the Texas Democrats, as a reliable contact, he has continued to climb up the political ranks.
Junior year of High School, Emmanuel joined the Harris County Young Democrats. Networking with the organization’s president, he landed an internship at Houston City Hall. Around this time he also worked for State Representative, Hubert Vo.
In response to the controversial 2025 redrawing of congressional maps, Emmanuel gave a brief yet fiery speech at a Texas House Select Committee. Calling Trump “Epstein’s wingman,” he described the president’s bid for five congressional seats through redistricting as blatant “corruption.”
”What the Republican Party currently stands for needs to be completely eradicated and hopefully something more moderate rises from the ashes and if not, it needs to be eradicated again and again,” he said at the end of his speech. “As many times as it takes because if the Republican Party keeps moving in the direction that it currently is — under this fascist dictator — there won’t be America to speak of anymore.”
He called his own testimony “performative activism,” with his goal being mainly to encourage the audience to vote blue.
Emmanuel also recently finished working on a campaign for Gen-Z congressional candidate, Isaiah Martin.
After University, the political science major is currently deciding between becoming a lawyer or a political analyst- either way, running for office is the end goal. Though there are many offices he could pursue — he said a run for the presidency is possible.
What is Dream For America?
Marcus is part of Dream for America, a non-profit he described as the “left-leaning opposition to Turning Point USA.” Founded in 2023 by then 16-year-old William He, the organization says its mission is to “win America’s culture war for real progressive values by identifying, educating, and organizing young people to defend our democracy, fight fascism, & take on MAGA extremism.”
The former DFA Press Secretary Kaivan Shroff called it “an organization created to mobilize young people in direct opposition to TPUSA.”
Marcus is the National Organizing Director and the East Texas Regional Director. He explained like TPUSA, Dream for America pushes young people to get involved in political campaigns.
Who are the Young Democrats of UT Tyler?
Only a freshman, Emmanuel is now in charge of the Young Democrats of UT Tyler, and he plans to run it partially like TPUSA.
He explained that this comes from Dream for America’s tactic of mirroring the conservative groups’ strategies.
For example, he said they might have tabling events where they invite passersby to discuss political topics like immigration.
Emmanuel mentioned hosting speakers like Kendall Scott and Beto O’ Rourke and holding a voter registration drive.
The UT Tyler Young Democrats will also partner with the Smith County Young Democrats, an organization that helped organize the “No Kings” protests in Tyler. The activist group has already collaborated with Students for Justice in Palestine at UT Tyler.
The goal is to get students politically active even if it’s not necessarily with the Democratic Party. Planned “educational sessions” will touch on subjects like how to get involved in campaigns and register people to vote.
Debate with Turning Point USA
The date for the debate between the Young Democrats of UT Tyler and TPUSA is tentative. TPUSA members saying it will likely take place in April 2026.
Both sides have expressed that the point of the event is to bring a sense of unity on campus.
Emanneaul explained it’s important to recognize that TPUSA is a “problematic organization,” while condemning political violence.
He rejected the idea that TPUSA should not be engaged with, because of their “problematic” ideology. Ignoring them feeds into their “victim complex,” a move he believes would only increase their numbers. He added that since so many people have adopted TPUSA’s conservative ideology, they have no choice but to address it.
“We’re now in a situation where the faction in society that believes in this ideology or supports this ideology is too large, so you have to discredit the message,” he said. “That’s the only way. Which is why I disagree with a lot of people that essentially talk about censoring them because you can’t censor such a large group.”
The plan is to make the debate light-hearted and avoid a heated environment.
“I’m somebody that believes in going about discrediting the message and having these open conversations in front of audiences,” he said. “
Even if I’m not necessarily converting them over to my side or entirely changing their opinion, I at least want to put them in a situation in which they realize that these problems are more nuanced than they originally thought.”
He said a lot of what the conservative group’s late founder, Charlie Kirk, advocated for was “inherently xenophobic.” Kirk has left behind a controversial legacy which has sparked heated debates on the ideas he held.
“I think he’s on the racist end. I think he’s a lot less explicit, but it definitely exists,” he said. “His rhetoric definitely harms my minority groups or it sets a bad cultural precedent. The xenophobic stuff is a lot more blatant, in my opinion and then, obviously, he’s homophobic as well.
I think the movement’s also inherently Christian Nationalist.”
He added he would also disagree with TPUSA’s support for the Trump Administration, accusing the president of centralizing power in the executive branch.
“I think they’re indoctrinating the youth into being complacent with an authoritarian regime,” he said. “I think Trump’s administration, even if you want to argue, isn’t entirely authoritarian, it’s definitely moving in that direction.”
He explained that he is not trying to “fear monger.” Calling the Vice President of TPUSA, Johnathan Roncancio, his friend, he added that the other officers are the “nicest people I’ve met.”
“I don’t think they’re inherently bad people, and I think that they do want the best for America,” he said about anyone who joins TPUSA. “I just think what the best looks like for them and what the best looks like for me is fundamentally different and my goal is just to prove why my vision for America is inherently more moral than theirs.”
To join UT Tyler democrats, students can fill out a form on their social media page.
Be the first to comment