Jessica Gonzalez beat incumbent state Rep. Roberto Alonzo with 62.5 percent of the vote. Because there is no Republican challenger in the race, Gonzalez will serve in the next legislature in 2019.
Alonzo is in his 10th term in office representing parts of West Dallas, Oak Cliff and Grand Prairie and all of Cockrell Hill. This is the first major challenge he has faced since the 1990s.
Gonzalez will be the third lesbian to serve in the legislature. Celia Israel, D-Austin, will return to the Legislature after facing no challenger in the primary and no Republican challenger in the fall. Mary Gonzalez, D-El Paso, won her primary with 68.5 percent of the vote. She faces no challenger in November.
In northwest Dallas County Julie Johnson won her primary with 76 percent of the vote. She faces an incumbent in November. If Johnson wins her race, the lesbian caucus in the 2019 Legislature will double that in recent previous sessions.
— David Taffet