Julie Johnson was projected to win her election Tuesday for Texas’s 32nd Congressional District, making history as the first openly LGBTQ person to represent Texas in Congress and the first elected from anywhere in the South, where legislation targeting LGBTQ rights is largely concentrated.
Johnson, 57, handily defeated her opponent, Republican Darrell Day, according to Decision Desk HQ. She will succeed outgoing Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), is looking to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Johnson made a name for herself in the Texas state legislature collaborating and forging friendships with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. “I’m willing to work with any member on good policy. Not all Democrats author good bills, and not all Republicans author bad bills,” she said in an interview with The Hill last year.
She also strongly advocated against legislation targeting gay and transgender Texans and, during her first term in the state House in 2019, helped form the Legislature’s first LGBTQ caucus, now one of the nation’s largest.
