Senate contenders battle over backgrounds, more
Houstonians found recent political debates to be largely uneventful events, they were in for a big surprise when state Rep. Jarvis Johnson and emergency room nurse Molly Cook took the stage. The two candidates, running to succeed Mayor John Whitmire in the Texas Senate, repeatedly clashed over their backgrounds and records ahead of back-to-back elections.
The District 15 seat became vacant for the first time since 1983 when Whitmire left the Legislature to serve as Houston’s mayor. During the Democratic primary in March, Johnson and Cook received 36% and 21% of the ballots cast, respectively, eliminating four other candidates from the race.
Since neither candidate received a majority of the vote, they are now set to compete against each other in a primary runoff May 28. Due to Whitmire’s early resignation, the two will also face off in a special election May 4 to decide who will complete the remainder of Whitmire’s term this year. Early voting for the special election starts Monday.
During Wednesday night’s debate, organized by the Bayou Blue Democrats, Johnson took aim at Cook for her lack of experience serving in elected office. Cook, striving to close a 15 percentage point gap behind her opponent, in turn leveled sharp attacks against Johnson for the state representative’s voting and donation records.
The district has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold, encompassing several of Houston’s most prominent neighborhoods, such as Montrose and the Heights. The winning Democrat in the runoff will face local businessman Joseph Trahan, the sole Republican to enter the race for the seat, in November.
Here are four takeaways from Wednesday’s fiery debate.
Political inexperience
Johnson has served in the Texas House since 2016 and previously represented District B on Houston’s City Council. On Wednesday, he sought to distinguish himself by emphasizing his extensive political experience, including passing dozens of bills during his time in the Legislature.
“The Senate is not a place to learn politics,” Johnson said. ”Experience as a nurse does not translate to being an experienced lawmaker to get the job done, to get bills passed.”
Cook highlighted her leadership in several grassroots activism campaigns in recent years. She spearheaded efforts to fight against the massive Interstate 45 expansion project. She also helped organize a successful campaign last year to increase Houston’s influence in a regional planning body, which she said would benefit Houstonians in key policy areas such as transportation and disaster mitigation.
Johnson’s experience in office also needs to be examined, Cook said. Specifically, she emphasized that Johnson missed more votes than most of his colleagues in 2021.
The state representative acknowledged his absence, noting that he and other Democrats walked out in 2021 to block a series of Republican-backed voting restrictions that attempted to ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting.
Cook, however, said that although she respects Democratic legislators’ decision to break quorum, Johnson also gave up on key opportunities to advance the rights of Texans that year.
“I find this concerning, and I feel that it’s something that voters need to know before they walk into that booth,” Cook said.
Voting record
Johnson’s attendance rate was not the only issue Cook raised Wednesday. She cited several legislative actions that she argued demonstrate that Johnson’s records are out of step with Democratic values.
She criticized Johnson for supporting a Republicanbacked bill that she said made it more difficult for individuals with preexisting conditions to secure equitable health insurance coverage. The vote was particularly disturbing to her as a health care professional who “see(s) people day in and day out with fear in their eyes, disease in their bodies,” she said.
“I got the education and experience that we need not to let that kind of thing slip past me, not to fall prey to a Republican playbook,” Cook said.
Johnson said he supported the bill only after Democrats had successfully added a favorable amendment to improve transparency in the process. Voting against the bill after securing the amendment, he said, would have jeopardized relationships with the Republican majority.
“The bill will pass with or without us. We can stand strong and firm and don’t move and say, ‘Absolutely not,’ but we’ll never get anywhere and we’ll never get anything,” Johnson said, adding Cook’s criticisms were “mind-boggling and baffling.”
PAC donations
The two contenders have been closely matched in fundraising. Since the start of 2023, Cook and Johnson have raised $420,400 and $443,700, respectively, with $39,700 and $75,500 in cash on hand as of late March, according to their campaign finance reports.
A significant portion of JohnIf son’s campaign funds—over $110,000—came from Charter Schools Now PAC, the political arm of the Austin-based Texas Public Charter Schools Association, which is connected to many conservative donors, Cook said.
Johnson pointed out that Cook had also sought the association’s endorsement: “You said, ‘Can I be your candidate?’ And they said, ‘No.’ Now all of a sudden they’re the demon and the devil?”
Cook said she interviewed with nearly all organizations that requested meetings and was forthright during these interactions.
“I promise never to touch dark Republican money that is floating through these PACs and changing the landscape and culture of our state around public education,” she said.
Republican leadership
Both candidates vowed to stand up to Republican leadership and advance liberal causes such as public education and Medicaid expansion.
Cook highlighted health care and women’s reproductive rights as causes personal to her. She has run campaign advertisements that describe her own experience of getting an abortion about a decade ago.
“I think of all the women that I saw in that waiting room, and I think of every single patient that I cared for, tucked in with a warm blanket or used my hands to resuscitate and revive,” she said. “I carry those women and those patients with me every moment of every day.”
She also emphasized transportation as a policy area on which she would focus. She said that instead of spending on more highways, which has disproportionately affected the quality of life of minority communities, the state should try to reduce traffic, mitigate air pollution and reduce flooding risks.
Johnson said he would combat racist rhetoric that has divided the state, including eliminating Confederate Heroes Day in Texas, which he described as long antiquated. Above all, he said, he would use his established relationships and work across the aisle to get the job done.
“When Sen. Whitmire went on to become mayor, he took with him 40 years of experience,” Johnson said. “I don’t believe that the citizens of Senate District 15 at this juncture can afford not to have someone with that same experience.”