Texas voters elect first LGBTQ+ state senator — Who is Molly Cook?

The Latin Times: Texas voters elect first LGBTQ+ state senator — Who is Molly Cook?

Emergency room nurse Molly Cook will make history as Texas' first openly LGBTQ+ state senator after winning a special election to occupy the post during the remaining months of recently elected Houston Mayor John Whitmire.

Cook, a Democrat, got 57% of the vote, beating state Rep. Jarvis Johnson for the seat, according to The Texas Tribune.

A sixth-generation Texan born and raised in the Houston area who came out as bisexual in 2021, Cook has said her regular contact with emergency room patients, including many women with pregnancy complications, as well as her grassroots activism background, would bring a fresh-eyed perspective to the Texas Senate.

This view has the potential to create significant change within the upper chamber, the Texas LGBTQ+ community has said. "The Senate is where our community faces the most hostility and desperately needs representation," emphasized an editorial in Out Smart Magazine.

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This is the first time Senate District 15, encompassing pivotal Houston neighborhoods known for their liberal leaning, is represented by someone other than Whitmire, who held the seat since 1983.

However, she has secured only the temporary position until the year's end, coinciding with the conclusion of Whitmire's term. She will contend against Johnson once more in a highly anticipated Democratic primary runoff on May 28th, deciding who will get a full term commencing January 2025.