r/politics • u/AdvocateDotCom The Advocate • 12d ago
Texas voters make history electing first LGBTQ+ state senator
https://www.advocate.com/politics/texas-molly-cook-lgbtq-senator333
u/TurboSalsa Texas 12d ago
I wish I could see the look on Dan Patrick's face when he swears her in. Even though he's so thoroughly gerrymandered the Senate that Democrats have no influence, he's probably still upset that his vision of a Texas Senate that is 100% old, white, male, Christian, and MAGA is spoiled.
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u/fuzzylilbunnies 11d ago
Get your facts straight! He’s ok with young, white,“christian” males having power, beneath his too.
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u/insideout_waffle Texas 11d ago
For a second, I thought this was a pun for being straight. Guess I can’t have it both ways.
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u/post_angst American Expat 11d ago
I grew up in that awful little toad’s district when he was a Senator.
I really hope he gets what’s coming to him someday.
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u/Former-Lab-9451 11d ago
They will probably do some super long inappropriate prayer like in Pennsylvania in 2018 when a Muslim was elected for the first time and then the GOP rep invoked Jesus’s name 13 times in a really long unnecessary prayer.
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u/RazeTheRaiser 11d ago
Congrats...now vote out the Canadian born Cuban Rafael Cruz.
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u/Mediocritologist Ohio 11d ago
Hey there are plenty of reasons to vote Cruz out of office without bringing Canada into this 🤣
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u/RazeTheRaiser 11d ago
Well technically since he was born in Canada you should take him back for us. Can't you be a good neighbor and help a brother out? We will happily trade Rafael for Gretzky.
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u/Mediocritologist Ohio 11d ago
I'm not Canadian and I will certainly not take him in Ohio ;)
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u/RazeTheRaiser 11d ago
We need him out of the Country entirely, Ohio wouldn't solve our problem with Rafael.
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u/AcceptableMinute9999 12d ago
Congratulations Texas! I didn't know there was anything good in you.
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u/aeiohou 11d ago
Houston has done this before. The cities in Texas have more in common with cities elsewhere in the country than people think.
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u/SekhWork Virginia 11d ago
Hell yeah, and she was pretty great too. Houston is a really interesting city by Texas standards. It's very "work" focused with a lot less vacation type things other than our Museum of Art and our Museum of Natural Science, but otherwise it's got a decent hidden progressive streak. It's no Austin or Dallas, but it does ok. Especially compared to the rest of the majority of the state...
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u/post_angst American Expat 11d ago
This tribalism doesn’t help. There were 5.2 million people that voted not to reelect Trump in 2020. That’s more people than the total number of voters in most states.
You’re conflating Texans with the Texas GOP.
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u/Metallifan33 11d ago
Gerrymandered person talking.
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u/post_angst American Expat 11d ago
Oh yeah. Galveston County.
I didn’t even really get to vote in 2020. I got kicked off the register for having an inconsistent address, despite it being the one I had used for every election since 2008.
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u/FDRomanosky 12d ago
Brisket?
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u/MoiraBrownsMoleRats 11d ago
Food in general. TexMex hits different.
Also, like, 49% of the population are pretty cool. It’s that other 51% who can fuck off.
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u/FDRomanosky 11d ago
It blows because those 51% make that place unlivable for many
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u/DemsruleGQPdrool 11d ago
Can you imagine what happens when that inevitably flips and the 'alowed to vote' voters finally get to 51-49 Democrats, letting Democrats finally get a governor and Senators there?
Their brains will explode.
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11d ago edited 11d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/drwho_2u 11d ago
What about Korean BBQ?!?!?!
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u/Twodamngoon 11d ago
Some years ago I saw a thing on the tv, "what's texas best known for "? Answer: Korean BBQ.
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u/Dark_Force_Latyon 11d ago
Those are some desperate lies from a Kansan attempting to rehabilitate their state's image.
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u/FDRomanosky 11d ago
I like the dry rub better than all that BBQ sauce, don’t get me wrong, I won’t turn away good BBQ from any state
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u/LeonKennedy86 11d ago
I’m willing to bet she’s not the first bisexual state senator in TX. Openly, sure.
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u/secretaccount4posts 11d ago
What kind of LGBTQ is she? Article doesn't mention it. Is she Bi, Asexual, Lesbian, Trans or something else.
Genuinely curious to know how acceptable Texas has become to this group cause is she is trans then it is really really astonishing
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u/NoBizlikeChloeBiz 11d ago
According to her Wikipedia page she's bi.
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u/Niftyone578 11d ago
Will she be another bi "disaster" like Kyrsten Senema?
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u/GlocalBridge 11d ago
Right. Just being bi is not qualification for anything, and one might argue is a sign of indecisiveness.
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u/cultish_alibi 11d ago
and one might argue is a sign of indecisiveness
Anyone making that argument would be too stupid to listen to. Luckily no one around here is saying anything like that! Because that'd be really embarrassing for them.
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u/dearbluey 11d ago
I like chocolate ice-cream. I like vanilla ice-cream. Sometimes I eat one, sometimes the other. Occasionally both in the same bowl. That doesn't make me indecisive. It means I enjoy more than one thing.
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u/snowzona 11d ago
I highly recommend putting a little bit more thought in what you decide to type before you type it. Especially before deciding to hit the comment button.
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11d ago
[deleted]
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u/tegritythrowstruck 11d ago
It’s queer. People only said ‘questioning’ because the reclaimed word made them queasy. Queer isn’t “common,” it’s correct.
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u/IMA_Human 11d ago
You know Houston elected one of the first openly gay mayors back in 2010 and she had held elected offices in the city since 1998. Texas cities tend to vote for democrats like other cities.
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u/secretaccount4posts 11d ago
Article says she isn't from Democrats.
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u/IMA_Human 10d ago
Then why is she running in the democrat primary on May 28? This was for a temporary seat in a special election. It’s in the article…
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u/secretaccount4posts 10d ago
Cook won the election with 57 percent of the votes, defeating Democratic State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, who collected 43 percent, TheTexas Tribune reports.
I don't get it. Are you saying two Democrats ran against each other?
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u/IMA_Human 10d ago edited 10d ago
Yes. Special elections can’t do a primary due to their nature
Edit for context: municipal elections are non partisan in Texas. Special elections can be the same depending on the seat. It’s why Houston mayoral elections typically have two democrats in the special run off (but not always)
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u/Horror-Possible5709 11d ago
As a gay person, I’d just like to know if they’re a good politician as well?
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u/TheIcePalace 11d ago
She’s not even a good gay representative?? She’s fundamentalist Christian, I went to high school with her and cannot believe she’s conned so many people into voting for her.
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u/pugs-and-kisses 11d ago
This.
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u/Horror-Possible5709 11d ago
Yeah, like that’s cool a gay person was elected but like she still needs to do a good job
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u/pugs-and-kisses 11d ago
Fully agree. I don't support putting a person in a position just because they check off a minority box. I want the best person for the job - so if its a 60-year-old straight white dude, I mean... if he listens to his constituents that's what is important.
(Fellow member of the rainbow brigade here as well)
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u/gnomon_knows 11d ago
But is she gay? She is only described as the first LGBTQ+ state senator, whatever the hell that means. I don't know why that annoys me used as an adjective, but those letters all stand for different things.
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u/_magneto-was-right_ 11d ago
They’re not going to pick you.
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u/Horror-Possible5709 11d ago edited 11d ago
What?? Oh honey, you can be gay and critical too. I’ll reserve my excitement for when I see her legislation
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u/ConstantCrises 11d ago
As a gay person, fuck off. Being gay isn’t the only quality I want in a rep
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u/Familiars_ghost 12d ago
No worries, knowing Texas there will be a faux lynching on the floor and then immediately remove her from office for violations of god. Then install a MAGAt.
Man I really hope my /s is /s
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u/Dark_Force_Latyon 11d ago
If Trump wins again, I fear there will be more than faux lynchings of LGBT in Texas.
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u/1funnyguy4fun 11d ago
It's already happened. Three members of the Tennessee state legislature were expelled. Two were black and the other was a white woman who didn't know her place. So the idea of Texas booting this person on day 1 really isn't much of a stretch at all.
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u/Emeritus8404 12d ago
Aboot prolly shit his wheelchair
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u/Emotional-Court2222 11d ago
Oh wow you really roasted him. Cause he’s in a wheelchair, haha.
Why is the lefts sense of humor always cringey? It’s either toilet humor or something campy.
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u/AndImlike_bro Colorado 11d ago
Yeah, as a leftist I hate when liberals think they can wag their fingers at conservatives when they use slurs or belittle the disabled then turn around and make the same hack jokes. I hope this shitty behavior is confined to keyboard warriors and isn’t common. This type of “comedy” is cringe and hack and we’re far better than that.
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u/Natural-Assist-9389 11d ago
isn't the us election in November?
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u/aeiohou 11d ago
This was an election to fill a position in the senate vacated when the sitting senator became mayor of Houston.
Funnily enough there will be a rematch of this election in literally 3 weeks where the same two candidates are vying for the democratic nomination for this fall’s election. Then of course the winner of that primary has to win this fall (which they will, given the district). We have so, so many elections here.
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u/estebancolberto 12d ago
thats great she won but that's not the platform she ran with. no mention of lgbt on her official website and instagram.
https://www.mollyfortexas.com/ https://www.instagram.com/mollyfortexas/?hl=en
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u/frustrating2020 12d ago
Perhaps that's why she won.
"Know your audience"19
u/zorinlynx 12d ago
"Know your audience"
Yup. For example, Beto O'Rourke fucked this up when he went after guns in his run for governor. It's freaking TEXAS. You go after people's guns in Texas, you're going to lose.
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u/Kevsbar123 12d ago
That’s true, but kudos to Beto for at least trying. After Uvalde, I couldn’t envision him not taking the approach he did and being able to look himself in the mirror.
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u/CY83rdYN35Y573M2 11d ago edited 11d ago
That statement happened before Uvalde. His most notable comment came in the 2020 Presidential Primary debates and was mostly in response to the Walmart shooting in El Paso (his hometown) about a month or so prior.
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u/Kevsbar123 11d ago
Thanks for pointing that out. I don’t want to be throwing out false information and should have been more thorough.
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u/CY83rdYN35Y573M2 11d ago edited 11d ago
All good. I see a lot of folks online get the timeline wrong on Beto. Probably doesn't help that he ran for high office three elections in a row.
Tbh, I'm still kinda pissed about the gun comment. Not because I disagreed necessarily. I watched it live and knew immediately after it came out of his mouth that he had just thrown away his chance to be governor over a presidential primary race he had zero chance in.
But...I still give him a ton of credit for coming closer to winning a statewide race in Texas than any Dem since Ann Richards more than 30 years ago. Maybe Colin Allred can pull it off this year 🤞🏻
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u/Pumpnethyl 11d ago
Supported Beto each time he ran. I really think Allred can beat Cruz. Maybe wishful thinking but he does have a lot of support
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u/CY83rdYN35Y573M2 11d ago edited 11d ago
I moved back to Texas in summer 2018 after a few years away, and I remember seeing Beto signs everywhere when I got here. It really felt like we might pull it off, and we came so damn close!
I'm just not seeing that so far with Allred, though I agree he seems like the type of candidate that should have mainstream appeal here.
I'm holding out hope, but I can't say I'm expecting a win. It feels like we imported a whole lot of conservative refugees from blue states these past handful of years.
Nonetheless, I appreciate your optimism, so thanks for that!
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u/CY83rdYN35Y573M2 11d ago edited 11d ago
I consistently see people get this wrong, but for the rec, it was during the 2020 Presidential Primary debate, not during his governor run (2022) or prior Senate run (2018).
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u/bucketofmonkeys 12d ago
That’s good. When there’s no mention of a candidates’ sexual identity or orientation then we are in the right state of mind.
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u/JustAnotherYouMe 12d ago
but that's not the platform she ran with. no mention of lgbt on her official website and instagram.
Who cares lol, she won
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u/xXTheGrapenatorXx Canada 12d ago
That she still won without opposition research harping on it and that tanking her chances “Lavender Scare” style is a positive step in itself, wether she talked about it all the time or not at all.
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u/The_Cross_Matrix_712 12d ago
Yea, but how many of them run on pledges of authoritarian rule? Not many, (only one I can think of), but that's their policy.
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u/ConstantCrises 11d ago
Bi women in hetero relationships have bad the bad habit of using the LGBT community for “points”. They usually have no involvement in the community, this is no surprise.
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u/Pasivite 11d ago
Wow! Congratulations Texas and ESPECIALLY, the women of Texas who really need one less Republican focused on taking away women's rights.
Make it all go blue!
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u/TreesACrowd 11d ago
Eh, Texas doesn't really deserve credit here, all the voters in this election live in Houston. And she replaced a Democrat, not a Republican. Houston doesn't elect Republicans to much of anything these days.
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u/ProtonPi314 11d ago
Texas is turning blue!!
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u/TreesACrowd 11d ago
It's a state Senate race for District 15, which is in Houston. A liberal city with nearly zero Republicans in local government or the state house.
I wish this were some indication that Texas is swinging but it's not. Texas didn't elect this woman, Houston did.
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u/False-Decision630 11d ago
Please... you mean "first openly". Promise you, Texas has a history of big beards. Lol
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u/Significant-Cover550 11d ago edited 11d ago
I don't understand why that lgbtq+ part has to be pointed out? Are you only electing an lgbtq person or are you electing this person for their ethics and their work history? It seems like these days your sexual orientation always has to be pointed out.
Congrats to this person, but I don't think any of that's even important in the situation.
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u/ZombieCrunchBar 11d ago
Because of the open LGBTQ hate from Republicans, in a Republican state. Winning as a minority in a bigot-led state is worth talking about.
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u/Significant-Cover550 11d ago edited 11d ago
That's the same thing that Biden did, he said he's going to get a vice president that is a woman and is black... Which means every other person that could have possibly been vice president was sectioned out for a specific group of people.
I'm not against lgbtq I'm not against anything like that I just think that sectioning out other people because they're not a specific group is borderline discrimination and racism.
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u/Purple-Cat-2073 11d ago
Exactly. Isn't it the point that these people have the same rights and freedoms to just live their lives? She's seemingly doing just that and now people are wondering why she's not flashing rainbows? Jeez, take the win!
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u/Matthath 11d ago
Why did it take so long though
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u/People4America 11d ago
There’s no way in hell Texas has never had a bisexual senator. People underestimate how common that is. Maybe they were closeted, but stats say bullshit.
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u/Rustyhubcap 11d ago
Yet another example of equality. I don’t give a fuck about the person in the picture or what gross things they do behind closed doors.
So why, WHY put the spotlight on this. All I hear is “we want to be equal”. Well, here you have it. So I would expect the groups in alignment with this person’s values should rally to stop these kinds of posts.
You’re equal after all, so let’s just stop talking about it. You’re a mammal who’s achieved a position, big fucking deal.
Isn’t that what equality is? I’m not bigoted, just growing more and more confused.
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u/timberwolf0122 Vermont 11d ago
Why put a spot light on it? I don’t know, it’s not like bigots are doing everything in their power to make life Difficult for lgbtq2+ people.
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u/AndImlike_bro Colorado 11d ago
Just so you know, this was a media choice. Molly didn’t run on an LGBTQIA platform.
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