With votes in from all Harris County voting centers, unofficial results show emergency room nurse Molly Cook has won the special election for Senate District 15 over Texas Rep. Jarvis Johnson with 57.2% of the votes, or 9,330 votes. Johnson finished the night with 6,973 votes.
Updated 11:03 p.m. May 4
With 118 of 151 voting centers reporting results in Harris County, emergency room nurse Molly Cook is on track to defeat Jarvis Johnson in the special election for Senate District 15, a seat formerly held by John Whitmire before he stepped down to run for mayor of Houston.
Cook is leading the race with 56.9% of the votes, or 8,762 votes, with Johnson at 6,629 votes, prompting Cook to declare victory in an election night news release.
"We’re just so thrilled and honored, and it is clear the district has put trust in me as a nurse and community organizer to go to Austin and fight for us," Cook said in an election night phone call. "Tonight is a celebration, and it is also a call to action, and we are laser focused on solidifying this win."
Posted 8 p.m. May 4
With early voting results tallied, Molly Cook has a lead over Jarvis Johnson in the special election for Senate District 15 with 55.1% of the votes, or 5,133 votes. Johnson trailed with 4,191 total votes.
The background
The special election is being held for Senate District 15 to fill a vacancy after former Sen. John Whitmire left the seat to run for mayor of Houston. The winner of the election will serve in the position through the remainder of Whitmire's term, which ends at the end of the calendar year.
A runoff election between Cook and Johnson will also take place May 28, the winner of which will face Republican Joseph L. Trahan in November to determine who will hold the seat for its next four-year term, which begins in 2025.
Meet the candidates
At an April 17 debate between the two candidates hosted by the Bayou City Democrats, Johnson—who has served as a state representative for District 139 since 2016, including as vice chair of the Homeland Security & Public Safety Committee—emphasized his experience, which he said would help get things done as a senator and fight against the Republican platform.
With a potential change at speaker of the House of Representatives looming before the 2025 legislative session, he said it is now more important than ever to have experienced lawmakers in both chambers.
"The Senate is not the place to learn politics on the job," he said. "It's about building relationships."
At the debate, Cook—a medical professional with a master's in public health policy—portrayed herself as a hardworking progressive that would show up to every vote and work to turn out Democratic voters.
Cook's community advocacy work has included leading grassroots efforts against an I-45 expansion project that has raised environmental and community displacement concerns, and working with the group Fair For Houston to pass a ballot proposition to try to give Houston more say in regional planning.
"I am tireless, and I am laser focused," Cook said. "Half the work is going to be in the capitol, and half the work is going to be outside the capitol."
Digging in
Johnson said his top priorities include fully funding public education, protecting voting rights and reproductive rights, and "beating back" other legislative efforts led by Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, including private school vouchers.
With Democrats in the minority of the Texas Senate, Johnson said his experience in the House of Representatives has taught him how to push back against the Republican majority by amending bills and raising points of order.
"Over the years of being a Texas Representative, we've been able to amend many of their bills, to stop many of their bills," he said. "You have to be strategic in how you get your bills to the finish line."
Cook said her top priorities include expanding Medicaid, fully funding public schools, restoring rights to abortion and leading a paradigm shift in how the state thinks about transportation.
"Texas is the only state in the entire U.S. with no dedicated public transit funding. ... That needs to change," she said. "Black and brown communities have paid the price over and over and over, and all we've gotten is more traffic, worse air pollution and more flooding."
Zooming out
Senate District 15 is located entirely within Harris County, covering a horseshoe shape that includes parts of East Houston, Generation Park, Humble and Cy-Fair as well as parts of the Heights, Montrose, the University Place area, Bellaire and Meyerland. Prior to stepping down to run for Houston mayor, Whitmire served in the position dating back to 1983.
What's next
The winner of the special election will serve in the seat through the end of this year.
In the March Democratic primary election, Johnson and Cook emerged as the top two vote-getters from a field of six candidates, with Johnson coming away with 36.13% of the votes and Cook getting 20.65%.
Both candidates will compete in a May 28 runoff election, the winner of which will face Republican Joseph L. Trahan in November to determine who will hold the seat for its next four-year term, which begins in 2025. Trahan ran unopposed in the Republican primary in March.
Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
