Molly Cook beats state Rep. Jarvis Johnson in special election
mergency room nurse Molly Cook will serve out the remaining months of John Whitmire’s term in the Texas Senate after defeating state Rep. Jarvis Johnson in a special election Saturday, according to unofficial returns.
With all precincts reporting, Cook led with 57% to Johnson’s 43%. She declared victory in a statement shortly after 10 p.m.
The win means Cook will represent Senate District 15 through the end of the year, making her the first person other than Whitmire to hold the seat since 1983. The post has been vacant since January, when Whitmire resigned to be sworn in as Houston mayor.
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Cook, who came out as bisexual in 2021, will be the first out member of the LGBTQ+ community to serve in the upper chamber, her campaign noted in a press release.
Cook, a community organizer who challenged Whitmire for the Senate seat in 2022, said it was “the honor of my life that the people of District 15 have chosen me as their next State Senator.”
“With the May 28th runoff election fast approaching, our work continues,” Cook said. “As we’ve done twice already, my campaign is prepared to knock on every door, talk to every voter, and reach every corner of District 15.”
Cook outraised and outspent Johnson since the March contest, giving her a financial edge she did not have in the first round when she trailed Johnson. The candidates were 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 3% of registered voters turned out.