Colin Allred, right and Julie Johnson, right
Dallas Voice endorses Julie Johnson for U.S. House, Colin Allred for U.S. Senate
TAMMYE NASH | Managing Editor
Nash@DallasVoice.com
Already, 2024 has been an unprecedented year for American politics. For example, one of the two major party presidential candidates is an adjudicated rapist and convicted felon with more possible felony convictions looming over him. The other major party candidate was not even a candidate until July 21, when, less than three months before Election Day, the presumptive nominee dropped out of the race.
Well, now you can add one more unprecedented event to the list: For the first time in our 40-year history, Dallas Voice is endorsing candidates in something other than a presidential race.
The 2024 presidential race promises to be one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history. As we said in our Sept. 27 endorsement of the Democratic ticket, this year we have a choice between the lies, hatred and division offered by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance or the new path forward toward progress and unity promised by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
Dallas Voice endorsed the promise of a brighter, more equitable future for everyone with our endorsement of Harris and Walz. But we know that, even should those candidates win on Nov. 5, the path toward progress will be rocky — especially if the executive branch has to fight against a regressive Congress every step of the way.
That is why Dallas Voice this week takes the unprecedented (for us) step of endorsing both U.S. House of Representatives candidate Julie Johnson and U.S. Senate candidate Colin Allred.
Let’s start out with Allred: Since first announcing his decision to run for the Texas District 32 seat in the U.S. House against Republican Pete Session — and even before then in his career as a civil rights attorney — Allred has been a staunch ally of all progressive communities, including the LGBTQ community. He is a member of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus in Congress, was an original co-sponsor of the Equality Act and voted for the Respect for Marriage Act. He has, in fact, posted a voting record that has won him high to perfect scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard.
“I’ve always believed no one should be discriminated against because of who they are, how they identify or who they love,” Allred has said.
Allred is running against incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz who has consistently voted against any and every piece of legislation that might be even remotely considered positive for the LGBTQ community. That includes the Respect for Marriage Act (that includes introducing two extreme anti-LGBTQ measures to stop marriage equality before the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling) and The Equality Act. And his anti-LGBTQ efforts don’t even include the time he abandoned all Texans during the legendary killer winter storm of 2021 to fly to the sunny shores of Cancun with his family (and then blamed his daughters for him making the trip).
Allred defeating Cruz would play a crucial role in control of the Senate and is vital not just for the LGBTQ community but for every progressive effort to move this country forward.
While having Colin Allred move from the House to the Senate would be a huge positive for our community, it leaves his District 32 seat in the House vulnerable to a GOP flip. That’s where Texas state Rep. Julie Johnson steps into the breach.
Johnson has already made history with her victory over Republican Matt Rinaldi in 2018, making her one of Dallas County’s first two openly LGBTQ elected officials, and the first member of the Texas House with a same-gender spouse. Now she is set to make history again: If she defeats Republican Darrell Day and Libertarian Kevin Hale on Nov. 5, she will be the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress not just from Texas but from any Southern state.
Besides being a proudly out lesbian in the Texas Legislature, during her three terms in the state House, Johnson has earned a reputation as a savvy, intelligent lawmaker who listens to her constituents, works across the aisle and gets legislation passed. We are endorsing her not just because she is an openly LGBTQ candidate, but because she is the best candidate all around — for our community and for our state.
On Election Day this year, our country and our community have the chance to take a giant step forward toward a much brighter future for everyone. But we can only move forward if we reject the hatred, lies and divisiveness that threaten to drag us backward and downward.
So we here at Dallas Voice urge every eligible person to, first, make sure you are registered to vote (Monday, Oct. 7 is the deadline), and then, GO VOTE! It’s never been more important.