“I think it’s really important to keep in mind that incremental change and revolutionary change are not mutually exclusive.”

Advocate: Molly Cook, Texas's first out LGBTQ+ state senator, is ready to make change (exclusive)

In a hectic period of both campaigning and getting ready to govern, Cook radiates energy and enthusiasm. She points to her experience as an emergency room nurse and community organizer as reasons voters should support her.

“I bring nursing leadership, and at a time when we need trust in our elected officials more than ever, I think that’s going to be really powerful for the people of Texas … just a trusted, credible voice coming from a nurse to work on all of these policies, but especially the ones that impact our health,” she says.

“I bring grassroots organizing,” she continues. “I have quite a CV at this point of successful organizing work. … I truly believe grassroots organizing is missing from the majority of the fights Democrats care about in Texas.”

“I also bring the experience of being a woman in Texas who’s had an abortion,” Cook adds; she had the procedure in 2014. But the end of Roe v. Wade in 2022 allowed states to ban or severely limit abortion, and Texas now has one of the most restrictive laws of any state. “And I’m telling my story, and it’s very important to share that, and I see how powerfully it resonates with people,” Cook says. “And that’s a perspective that not a lot of people in that chamber are going to have, and I know what’s at stake and how important it is to get those rights back.”