Jessica Gonzalez will return for a second term in the Texas House of Representatives (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)
Dallas Voice declares state Rep. Jessica Gonzalez in her race for re-election for her District 104 seat. Gonzalez needed exactly one vote to win, because she was running unopposed. We checked. She voted for herself. She won.
Gonzalez said she spent the campaign working for other candidates. Among them was Julie Johnson. Johnson and Gonzalez were two of the founders of the LGBT Caucus in the 2019 session of the Texas Legislature and shared an apartment during the legislative session.
“I block-walked for Julie,” she said. Gonzalez said Johnson appeared likely to win re-election as well. Johnson was named Freshman of the Year in the last session of the Legislature by Texas Monthly.
During early voting, Gonzalez said she greeted people at the polls and attended some get-out-the-vote pop-up events.
In a conversation she had with state Rep. Celia Israel, Austin, another founding member of the caucus, Israel related that she was confident Ann Johnson, Houston, and Lorenzo Sanchez, Plano, would be elected. In addition to the five LGBT members of the Legislature, six LGBT candidates are running.
Of the other three LGBT Caucus members, Israel has token opposition and is expected to win re-election. Erin Zwiener, Driftwood, has been targeted, but said she is confident of re-election. Mary Gonzalez, Clint, is unopposed. Oh, Dallas Voice declares Mary Gonzalez the winner too. Mary was the first LGBT person elected to the Legislature since Glen Maxey served through the 1990s.
Gonzalez has been working on a comprehensive LGBT non-discrimination bill that she will file after the election as her first bill of the upcoming session.
Watch for coverage in Dallas Voice through election night about the 11 LGBT candidates running for the Texas House of Representatives and other LGBT highlights around the country.
— David Taffet
