Molly Cook Just Became Texas’ First Out LGBTQ+ State Senator

Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images

Texas voters elected nurse and community organizer Molly Cook to the state Senate in a special election this weekend, marking the first time an openly LGBTQ+ Texan has held a seat in the upper chamber.

Cook, who is bisexual, wrote that she is “joyfully indebted” to her campaign staff and volunteers in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.

“We are not missing a beat or taking anything for granted,” Cook wrote. “I am grateful to live my life in service to the health & safety of my neighbors.”

Cook, 32, faced off against state Rep. Jarvis Johnson (no relation to the YouTuber of the same name) in this weekend’s special election, which was held to fill the vacant seat of former Sen. John Whitmire after he was elected mayor of Houston in November. Cook will fill Whitmire’s old seat for the remainder of the current term, but will also go up against Johnson once more in a runoff primary on May 28 to decide the Democratic candidate for the 2025-26 legislative sessions. The Texas legislature is not scheduled to reconvene in 2024, but may do so if Gov. Greg Abbott calls for a special session, Houston Public Media noted.

During the campaign, Cook has so far attacked Johnson on his connections to conservative “dark money” and votes in favor of Republican bills. Johnson has called Cook’s criticisms “mind-boggling and baffling,” and asserted Cook does not have enough political experience to lead. Though Cook beat Johnson by a roughly 14-point margin, Johnson has claimed the results were warped by low voter turnout, according to local outlet Houston Landing.

Though her official platform is light on specific policy recommendations, Cook has expressed strong support for LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms generally, noting that trans Texans are “in the cross hairs of hateful policymaking” and at a heightened risk for violence. She has previously opposed Abbott’s policies against gender-affirming care, and testified against a bill last year that would have banned research into juvenile sexual behavior.

The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which endorsed Cook’s candidacy, released a statement over the weekend lauding her win as a milestone for LGBTQ+ representation in the Republican-held state.

Abbott was speaking at a convention for the Young Conservatives of Texas when he made the statement, audio of which was later shared on X.

“For too long, the LGBTQ+ community has been the punching bag of bigots in the Texas Senate,” wrote Victory Fund president and CEO Annise Parker, who served as mayor of Houston from 2010 to 2016. “Now, they’ll have an out LGBTQ+ peer as their colleague who will look them in the eye and make them see the Texans they’re hurting.”

Texas Republicans have set the bar for anti-LGBTQ+ bills and policies in recent years, rivaled only by their colleagues in Florida. Gov. Abbott has made no secret of his anti-LGBTQ+ stances, remarking as recently as April that he hopes to “end” trans teachers’ ability to work in his state. Last week, state Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s new Title IX non-discrimination rules, which will now cover gender identity. In January, civil rights groups petitioned the United Nations to formally intervene in Texas, accusing Republicans of “dragging our nation into a civil rights crisis” through plainly discriminatory laws.

“The governor and other leaders are failing in their basic responsibilities to keep all Texans safe and free,” wrote GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a joint statement endorsing the petition. “Discrimination against LGBTQ Texans, especially in the transgender community, is of international concern.”

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Originally Appeared on them.