State Rep. Shawn Thierry lost her seat to labor organizer Lauren Ashley Simmons in the Democratic runoff for House District 146, a race that has been defined by support for the LGBTQ+ community, according to complete but unofficial results.
State Sen. Molly Cook edged state Rep. Jarvis Johnson in a competitive race for Senate District 15. Johnson led Cook throughout much of the evening but was overtaken over the course of the night in a neck-and-neck contest. Cook ended up winning by 73 votes in a race that saw more than 18,700 cast.
The races were among a handful of low-turnout, but crucial elections that largely determine the winner of the Nov. 5 general elections because of the partisan bent of many of the districts.
Voting was marred by two storms. The first struck the area May 16 and knocked out power to more than 900,000 customers and closed six of Harris County’s 50 early vote centers. Then, an Election Day storm Tuesday afternoon knocked out power to about 300,000 customers in the area, according to Centerpoint, including nearly a dozen of the county’s 313 vote centers.
Despite the environmental barriers, more than 16,400 votes were cast Election Day as of 6 p.m., according to the Harris County Clerk’s office.
There were 30,460 votes cast during last week’s five days of early voting.
At her election night watch party, Simmons said her campaign overcame GOP financial support to win the race.
The HD 146 contest has been defined by Thierry’s vote last spring to ban gender-transitioning care for children and public comments since then. Thierry angered Harris County progressives by describing the treatments as “castration” and “genocide” against Black children while Simmons has argued the discussion is distracting from issues critical to the district, including economic inequality and gun violence.
Thierry said her votes reflected the will of her district.
Frustrated Democratic House colleagues lined up behind Simmons against Thierry while the four-terms state representative initially distanced herself from the votes, then campaigned off of them in response to nearly losing the March primary outright.
Thierry rolled out her own endorsements from the leaders of Houston area Black churches and a half dozen of her House colleagues.
In Senate District 15, voters were asked to choose between Johnson’s legislative experience and Cook’s fresh ideas as a local organizer
Cook handily defeated Johnson in a special election earlier this month to fill the remaining seven months of Mayor John Whitmire’s unexpired term. Tuesday’s victory matters more: As the winner, Cook is all but certain to win a November general election in the heavily Democratic district that grants a four-year term in the Texas Senate.
The May 4 race saw miniscule turnout that prompted Johnson to issue a statement arguing the result was marred and pleaded with his supporters to turn out for Tuesday’s election.
In a late night statement Tuesday, Cook said the race still was too close to call. Regardless of the outcome, she promised to serve the residents of the district for her current term.
“We are a community with high standards and high hopes, and we never back down from a tough fight,” Cook wrote. “Our goal was always to leave this space better than we found, and I can say with complete clarity that we accomplished that goal and more.”
Johnson led the pair’s previous contest in March, when he and Cook advanced from the Democratic primary’s crowded field of six to Tuesday’s runoff. Since the March primary, the race has grown more competitive, as Johnson cast Cook as inexperienced and Cook called into question Johnson’s Democratic bona fides.
Johnson took particular issue with a series of mailers Cook sent throughout the district that claimed Johnson was too close to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for a Democratic official.
In House District 139, Charlene Ward Johnson defeated Angie Thibodeaux.
The seat in heavily Democratic northwest Houston currently is held by Jarvis Johnson, but he will vacate it at the end of the year. Jarvis Johnson did not run for reelection because of his race for SD 15.
Incumbent Justice Jerry Zimmerer lost his Texas 14th Court of Appeals Place 3 post to Velda Renita Faulkner, an attorney who manages her own local practice.
Vivian King, the first assistant and chief of staff for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, defeated criminal justice advocate Gemayel “G” Haynes in the race for the 486th Judicial District judge.
Annette Ramirez beat Desiree Broadnax for the Democratic nomination to replace Harris County Tax Assessor Ann Harris Bennett, who is not seeking reelection. The winner will face Republican former Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack in November.
On the Republican ballot, Caroline Kane bested Kenneth Omoruyi in the Congressional District 7 runoff. Alan Garza beat Christian V. Garcia in the Congressional District 29 runoff.
Both winners face long odds to prevail in November because each district is held by a Democratic incumbent and leans heavily in the Democratic Party’s favor. The winner in District 7 will face U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher in District 7 and the winner in District 29 will face U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia in District 29.
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