The slogan for John Deere tractors is “Nothing runs like a Deere.” The same could be said for JulieJohnson’s campaigns. (Photo courtesy of Julie Johnson.com)
After a landslide victory, Johnson becomes first LGBTQ congressperson elected from the South
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
To many in the LGBTQ community across the country, the 2024 elections were, overall, disastrous: The GOP, which has a decidedly anti-LGBTQ record, despite some gay conservatives’ efforts, will take control of all three branches of the federal government. And much of the hard-won progress the community has made seems to be in danger.
But there were bright spots, and the election of Texas state Rep. Julie Johnson as the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress from any Southern state was definitely one of the brightest.
Throughout her six years in the Texas Legislature, Johnson has remained a steadfast voice for common sense as well as for LGBTQ civil rights. And as we ready ourselves to keep up the fight in the face of so much fear and uncertainty, the knowledge that Johnson will be as much a steadfast force for sanity and progress in Washington as she was in Austin, provides a steadying hand and a ray of hope for the community.
That is why Dallas Voice has chosen Congresswoman-elect Julie Johnson as our 2024 LGBTQ Texan of the Year.
Breaking ground
Few new members of Congress have gotten as much national attention as Julie Johnson: “Julie Johnson has made history, becoming the first member of the LGBTQ+ community to be elected to Congress from the U.S. South,” People magazine declared after the election.
“Now, she’s eager to use her voice to serve the greater good.”
“Johnson made a name for herself in the Texas state Legislature, collaborating and forging friendships with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle,” wrote D.C. newspaper The Hill about her victory.
Johnson won her election with more than 60 percent of the vote. And she won in every corner of her district.
In very red Collin County, she received 54 percent of votes in her district and, in Denton County, 62 percent, one point higher than she scored in Dallas County.
When she first ran for a seat in the Texas House, Johnson defeated the then-incumbent, bathroom bill author Matt Rinaldi, by supporting education issues that mattered to parents and teachers.
When she ran for Congress, she ran on her record of gaining bipartisan support for her legislation. She proposed Medicaid expansion and worked with the LGBTQ Caucus to kill 76 of the 77 anti-LGBTQ bills authored.
She also made several campaign promises along her path to Washington, including writing Roe into law to make abortion safe and legal and strengthening common-sense gun laws by raising the age to buy firearms, adding safe storage laws and preventing individuals at risk of causing harm to others from possessing a firearm.
Johnson also promised to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and defend the Affordable Care Act, and to stop the extremist agenda “that’s pushing hate and divisiveness.”
LGBTQ Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker called Johnson a good candidate for a variety of reasons. “She’s an experienced campaigner through multiple elections,” Parker said. “She knew the people in her district and knew the issues well. She ran on a record of accomplishment.”
Parker noted that Johnson worked across the aisle during her tenure in the Texas Legislature, and “that should serve her well since Democrats are in the minority,” Parker said.
“She’ll find the people who are serious and get stuff done.”
She called Johnson “calm and centered,” saying the Congresswoman-elect “focuses on building relationships.” But, she added, Johnson will “weigh into a righteous fight when necessary.”
Candidates set the tone of how they’ll act in office by how they campaign. Parker complimented Johnson’s game plan and fundraising ability.
“People gravitate toward people serious about the work,” she said.
Parker said all parts of our community need to be represented. Johnson is married and has two sons, so she’ll represent that part of the LGBTQ community well along with Rep. Angie Craig, a congresswoman from Minnesota with four sons.
Parker, who lives in Houston, said she’s followed Johnson’s career closely and has watched her work hard in the Texas Legislature. And, she added, “I know she’ll work just as hard in Washington.”
The personal side
Candy Marcum has known Johnson for about 30 years.
“It didn’t surprise me when she first ran,” Marcum explained. “When I ran for city council, Julie said, ‘Let me be your treasurer.’”
Marcum said Johnson was interested in looking at what a campaign would look like.
“She was very good at what she did,” Marcum said. “She got me on the phone to ask people for money. She kept data on people who came to our events. I’ve known for a long time Julie had aspirations to run for office.”
Marcum said she expects Johnson to do in Washington, D.C., what she did in the Texas Legislature — build bridges and find like-minded people that she can make laws with. Marcum said one of the biggest jobs of members of Congress is to send money home to build roads, bridges and infrastructure to “make our lives here work with federal money.”
Marcum said she and her wife get together with Johnson and her wife regularly through a book club they started together in the 1990s.
“We’ve traveled together because we’re all friends,” she said. “Julie’s the most fun. She knows where to stay, where to eat. She’s a leader and I totally follow her. She has nothing but good on her mind.
“Because Julie’s a self-made person and a mom, she’s compassionate,” Marcum continued. “She sensitive to how others feel.”
And she remembers her roots: Marcum said Johnson wants to continue joining them for book club after her move.
Fink, who appeared in a primary election commercial for Johnson, said she supported Johnson’s run for Congress because “I knew she was destined for great things when she first ran for Texas House.”
She said when she first received an email from Johnson that she was thinking of running for the Texas House, Fink called her immediately.
“I don’t think it’s going to stop at the Texas House,” Fink told Johnson.
At the time, Johnson said, “Let’s just focus on this.” But Fink was not at all surprised when Johnson filed to fill the seat Colin Allred was giving up in Congress.
“I think she’s going to bring a lot to the office,” Fink said. “She’s married, has kids, had her own law firm, was a small business owner. And she has experience passing good legislation helping real people.”
Fink said she knows Johnson would love to pass voting rights legislation and the Equality Act, but acknowledged that “That will be hard in the upcoming Congress.”
Still, Fink said, Johnson has experience in working with Republicans to get things done in Texas, and she will take that experience with her to Washington.
“It’s so important she’s the first LGBTQ person elected to Congress from not just Texas but all of the South,” Fink said, because “LGBTQ people from across the South will look up to Julie as a leader and a voice for us.”
And as she has proven already, Johnson has what it takes to be that voice to lead her community through what looks to be some dark times to a brighter future ahead. And in naming her LGBTQ Texan of the Year, we honor her work so far, and the work we know she will continue to do. n