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By Jasper Scherer, The Texas Tribune

“Texas Senate special election Saturday previews Democratic primary runoff coming later this month” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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Voters in parts of Houston and Harris County are heading to the polls Saturday to decide who will serve out the remaining months of John Whitmire’s term in the Texas Senate, filling the vacancy left by the longtime Democrat’s move to City Hall.

On the ballot in Saturday’s special election are a pair of Democrats, state Rep. Jarvis Johnson and emergency room nurse Molly Cook. The two are also vying for a full term in Senate District 15 and will square off again in the May 28 Democratic primary runoff, the contest that will effectively decide who fills the solidly blue seat for a four-year term starting in January.

The stakes are decidedly lower in Saturday’s matchup, with the Legislature unlikely to convene before the end of the stopgap term. Still, a decisive win for either candidate would provide a jolt of momentum and perhaps signal what’s to come in the all-important runoff.

Johnson, a businessman and former member of Houston City Council, drew 36% of the vote in the March 5 primary, easily leading a field of six Democratic hopefuls but failing to reach the majority needed for an outright win. Cook, a community organizer who challenged Whitmire for the Senate seat in 2022, finished a distant second with nearly 21%.

Since the March election, however, Cook has outraised and outspent Johnson, giving her a financial edge she did not have in the first round. The candidates are also battling for a different — and much smaller — slice of the electorate on Saturday: The special election is open to all voters like a general election, and an anemic 1.9% of registered voters turned out for early voting or had sent in mail ballots that reached the county clerk’s office.

Cook and Johnson have expressed few ideological differences, with each promoting progressive platforms from supporting abortion access and LGBTQ+ rights to boosting public school funding.

Johnson has leaned on his experience, arguing he would be more effective in the role because he has already spent the last eight years in the Texas House. He says his relationships in Austin and knowledge of what it takes to shape and pass legislation would be critical when serving in a chamber dominated by hardline conservatives.

Cook says her regular contact with emergency room patients — from those with pregnancy complications to victims of the 2021 winter storm — and her background in grassroots organizing would bring a much-needed fresh perspective to the upper chamber. She has also sought to position herself to Johnson’s left, attacking him for supporting certain Republican-backed legislation. Johnson said he has at times voted for GOP bills he opposes because, in return for his support, Republicans allowed him and other Democrats to amend the bills to make them more palatable.

The winner of Saturday’s contest will be the first person other than Whitmire to represent the district in more than 40 years. The veteran lawmaker, who was elected Houston mayor in December, resigned from his Senate post the following month when he was sworn in to his new role leading the city.

The district, home to a diverse cross-section of nearly 1 million Harris County residents, carries major political weight for Democrats. Shaped like an upside-down horseshoe, it covers some of Houston’s biggest liberal strongholds — including Montrose, The Heights and Acres Homes — and blue-trending neighborhoods that are key to Democrats’ aspirations to flipping Texas, such as Bellaire and suburban pockets of northwest and northeast Harris County.

Both Cook and Johnson say they would look to maximize the role of the Senate seat, beyond the traditional functions of a state lawmaker. Johnson, a former restaurant owner, said he would draw on his business experience, and his relationships with local officials from school boards to Congress, to pursue ambitious policies that would attract people and businesses to underserved parts of the district.

“We have to be able to all sit down at the table and call for what’s the best plan for our community,” Johnson said. “That’s the type of leadership that takes our district to a whole new level, is the kind of leadership that understands and embraces affordable housing, it’s the type of leadership that understands how to attract more businesses to your community.”

Cook said she would look to boost the types of grassroots movements she has helped organize in recent years, such as opposing the state’s massive plan to expand Interstate 45 and passing a city ballot referendum aimed at strengthening Houston’s representation on a regional group that distributes federal funds.

“We need a leader and legislator in that seat who understands the value and importance of grassroots organizing, and is willing to use their significant platform and service to feed those movements,” Cook said. “The more and more institutional support that I have, the more support that I can lend to the folks on the ground doing this work.”

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/04/texas-elections-2024-special-senate-district-15-harris-county-houston/.

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