State Rep. Jarvis Johnson Leads In Early Returns Against Senator Molly Cook

Early returns in the Texas Senate District 15 Democratic primary runoff Tuesday evening showed State Rep. Jarvis Johnson leading against Molly Cook, putting Johnson ahead with one more election away from securing the four-decades long-held seat.

Johnson collected 51.7 percent of the unofficial early and ballot-by-mail votes, with Cook trailing with 48.3 percent. Tuesday’s election is the third, but not the final, election to determine who will take over representing Senate District 15 for Houston Mayor John Whitmire.

The candidate who wins the Democratic primary runoff will run against Republican nominee Joseph L. Trahan, a Houston-area investor, the sole Republican candidate vying for the Senate seat. According to his campaign website, Trahan wants to flip Senate District 15, a historically Democratic district, red.

Trahan’s top three legislative priorities include strengthening what he refers to as the open border, managing escalating crime rates and eventually eliminating what he calls out-of-control property taxes. He is also pro-election security, parental rights and school choice in Texas’s public schools.

Trahan said he would draw on his decades-long experience in the Texas Legislature championing pro-small business legislation. He launched BIZPAC, which helps organize small businesses to be effective and coordinate with legislative bodies in Texas and nationwide to ensure the creation of legislation that benefits small business owners.

Cook and Johnson went head-to-head in early May during a special election to elect the candidate who would fulfill the remainder of Whitmire’s current Senate term, which is up at the end of the year.

Despite Johnson’s finish ahead of Cook with 36.1 percent of the vote — and four other candidates — in the March primary to Cook’s 20.6 percent, Cook came out on top her second time facing off against Johnson with 57 percent of the vote to the state representative’s 43 percent.

“It’s a huge vote of confidence that the district trusted me to be their Senator, whether it’s for six months or four years and six months,” Cook said.

Cook was sworn in roughly two weeks ago, the night the derecho storm struck the Houston area. She said it was an opportunity to start working on the office side. She shifted some campaign resources to meet the needs of those in the district affected by the weather event.

“It should have been overwhelming, but it wasn’t because we have already been responding to disasters as organizers on the ground for the past few years,” Cook added. “So, it felt like a natural shift, and it was a privilege to do that same work with an increased access that comes with the state senate elected office.”

Cook works as an emergency room nurse and ran emphasizing her experience as a community organizer, conducting a successful campaign, “Fair For Houston,”  to get voters to approve of Proposition B. The measure creates more representation for Houston and Harris County on the Houston-Galveston Area Council. However, the matter is currently being negotiated.

Despite Cook’s commitment to grassroots work, Johnson routinely touts his experience in politics on the campaign trail. He has told his opponent and debate-goers that the Texas Senate is not the place to learn on the job.

Johnson entered politics in his late twenties, eventually serving as a Houston City Council member and getting elected as a state representative in 2016. Since then, he has served House District 139, which encompasses part of Houston.

According to Johnson, the relationships he’s created and the willingness to compromise — even if that means accepting a favorable amendment on a bill his party doesn’t agree with — makes him the best candidate to take over for Whitmire next term.

Johnson added that he has the strategies to know how to block a bill and how to lessen the blow of getting a bill the district’s constituents would not approve of by adding elements to the legislation they would support.

Cook, whose boots-on-the-ground work has allowed her to connect with the community, says her unwavering commitment to serving Senate District 15 and its best interests makes her the right choice.

She adds that voters are looking for transparency in their elected officials. Cook embraced that throughout her campaign, opening up about her abortion. She now has constituents coming up to her to thank her and share their own stories.

Despite their different approaches and backgrounds, Cook and Johnson share similar legislative priorities, including expanding Medicaid, increasing access to reproductive health care, and funding public education.

Cook is a transportation advocate involved in the Stop TxDOT I-45 expansion project campaign. She largely draws on her healthcare experience to advocate for more improvements in the state’s healthcare system.

Johnson campaigned on criminal justice reform, environmental protections, and his continued efforts to raise the age to purchase assault rifles after the Uvalde Elementary School shooting that occurred roughly two years ago.