Meet the 20 year old leading a super PAC for the Texas Senate race, and she's just getting started

HOUSTON (Nexstar) — In the era of influencers, partisan politics and the explosion of social media — one young Texas woman is carving out her own lane in the national landscape, using her phone as her soap box.

When Congressman Matt Gaetz — a Trump-aligned Republican representing Florida — made body-shaming comments about abortion rights activists at a 2022 conservative summit event, a Texas teen turned the mockery into millions. Then 19-year-old Olivia Julianna, a Democratic activist from Texas, decided to clap back to the congressman on Twitter. The public feud prompted fundraising on Julianna's behalf, raising more than $2 million for abortion funds.

Since the viral moment last year, Julianna has grown her following to more than a million subscribers collectively across TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. The Gen Z activist told Nexstar that, to her surprise, many of her followers are self-proclaimed Republicans — some who argue in her comments, others who she said message her privately to express respect for the game she plays.

"I think a lot of beliefs or attacks or anger are just coming from a place of fear," she said. "I don't mind having conversations with Republicans if they're good faith."

Of the fundraising and social media fight, a spokesman for Gaetz told the Washington Post last July that nothing would change the country's new status as a “pro-life nation” after Roe v. Wade was overturned. That decision happened a month prior to Gaetz's comments at a Turning Point USA summit, where the congressman called abortion rights advocates "disgusting" and overweight.

Julianna said she got her first death threat at the age of 17, but she acknowledged it was expected being a young abortion rights activist.

Make no mistake, Julianna promised she never claimed to pander to anyone. In a TikTok video, she rationalized behaving often-times "antagonistic," noting that she (at the time) was a teenager and not an elected member of Congress.

"So often, women are told to 'sit down' and 'be quiet and be nice and respectable,'" she told Nexstar. "Let me be clear, I never said I was nice. I never said I was going to be respectful. And I think because of that there's this just, you know, inherent respect that some people have like, 'oh, I mean, she's doing what she's gonna do.'"

A pandemic star was born

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit three years ago, social shockwaves were felt across the nation. For many states, months of pandemic lockdowns ended in political eruptions felt after a Black man, George Floyd, was killed at the hands of police. When the storm subsided, the scars and bruises of America's division were as visible as ever — with teenagers like Olivia sitting at home asking one question: why?

With online school and in-person activities stripped away, Julianna — who was raised in a conservative Texas household — found herself in a similar position to other American teens in 2020: glued to their phones, watching what felt like the world unraveling.

"I'm just seeing all of this just stuck in this little farmhouse in the middle of rural Texas thinking what the hell is going on?" she said.

After Floyd was killed in late May 2020, Julianna found herself feeling rage and frustration, and said she wanted to take it to the streets and join protests. Her father, however, forbade her from doing so.

"I started making TikTok videos about politics and about the presidential election and it really took off from there and has just kind of molded into this thing that I really had no idea that it would ever come to," she said.

The 20 year old has a striking air of confidence for an age when most are still trying to find their place in the world. It was a boldness she found from her own growing pains, struggling at times with political differences within her larger family, health issues and other obstacles. Perhaps her gumption is attributable to earlier challenges, as now she laughs at grown adults in higher office who pick fights with her online.

"Being an abortion rights activist in Texas is not for the faint of heart," she said with ease. "I know it makes me sound crazy to say this, but they just make me laugh. They make me laugh and I'm not scared in the slightest."

Bridging the divide

Despite Julianna's unapologetically loud presence in political activism, the 20 year old regularly invites conservatives to engage in civic debate with her in the new public square for forums: social media. She hosts TikTok live videos on her platform with more than a half-a-million followers, inviting young Republicans on to debate relevant culture wars and challenges America grapples with.

"I don't ever want to put someone in the position where they feel like they can't ask me something because they're worried that I'll be offended or that I'll be triggered. I just want people to be able to have open conversations," she said. "Because I think the more that we have those conversations, the less ignorance there is. And I think ultimately, the less hatred there is."

She credits it partially to her upbringing, now finding herself often in the middle of arguments with her family as the lone liberal.

"I know that my conversations with my family are always going to come from a place of love," Julianna said.

From social media to the streets

Since her quick rise in the national political landscape, Julianna has joined forces with prominent politicians — hopping on the campaign trail to try to elect Democrats in her home state of Texas, flying out to D.C. for rallies and White House events and even leading major organizations without a completed college degree. Julianna is enrolled in online college so she can juggle activism and school.

She credits her commitment to activism as a love for her home state of Texas and a dedication for doing what she believes will make it a better place.

"I think that this idea that Texas isn't winnable, it's not true," Julianna said. "They know that if Texas flips, and if we get a statewide seat — which in this cycle, I'd argue is more possible than any we've seen in the last couple of cycles — that it's all bets are off."

A former political strategist for a youth-led nonprofit called Gen Z for Change, Julianna caught the attention of elder Democratic strategists who have been in the field longer. She was tapped by a small group forming a super political action committee called Lose Cruz, which is entirely dedicated to unseating Texas' incumbent junior U.S. senator.

So far, only one Democrat is running to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz — Congressman Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker who took a Dallas-area Republican incumbent's seat in 2018. Additionally, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, has hinted at bid for higher office.

After the formation of Lose Cruz was initially announced, a spokesperson for Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign released the following statement: "It’s not surprising that Democrats are already starting to pour money into Colin Allred’s campaign. He has no name ID and is running on a radical leftist record that Texans have rejected time and time again. Allred is a reflection of the current state of the Democrat Party in Texas: unpopular, unknown, and hopeless."

For now, Julianna said she remains committed to being a "political animal" and will see where life takes her.

"If I run for office one day, I run for office. Do I have a plan to do that? No. But you know, if I feel like God is calling me to do that at any given time, then I'll do it," she said. "As for right now as a as an individual faith, I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. And I think I'll probably just stick here for a while — and finish college first!"