The last time Senate District 15 was an open seat was 1982 — before some of the candidates currently running for it were born.
But after four decades, John Whitmire, the former Senate dean who was elected Houston mayor in December, has moved on. The rare opening is fueling a competitive, six-way Democratic primary for the solidly blue, Houston-based seat in the Legislature’s upper chamber.
The Democratic candidates to succeed him are aligned on most big issues but touting different backgrounds and coalitions of support as they approach a gauntlet of elections this year. There is the March 5 primary, a May special election to finish the rest of Whitmire’s term — and potential runoffs to go with both of those — and then the November election.
“There’s lots of layers to this race,” said Art Pronin, a longtime Democratic activist in the Meyerland area.
The field features a sitting state representative — Jarvis Johnson — plus Whitmire’s 2022 primary challenger, Molly Cook, and the Democrat who first ran against U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, six years ago, Todd Litton. There is also Karthik Soora, a renewable energy developer who was the first to declare when Whitmire was still the incumbent; Alberto “Beto” Cardenas Jr., a lawyer who has a long history in Houston civic life; and Michelle Anderson Bonton, executive director of the Anderson Center for the Arts.
The district is widely diverse — people of color are 71% of the population. Johnson and Bonton are Black, Cardenas is the only Hispanic candidate and Soora is Indian American.
The seat is solidly Democratic, though it overlaps with territory where voters have helped Democrats gain new ground in the Donald Trump era, like the 7th Congressional District.
“They want a fighter,” Pronin said of SD-15 voters, but also “you’ve got a lot of practical Democrats here.”
That dynamic is especially relevant in the current Senate, where Democrats are the minority party and must grapple with a lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, who tolerates little dissent. At a recent forum hosted by the Meyerland Area Democrats Club, candidate after candidate vowed to stand up to Patrick while also finding common ground with Republicans on issues important to the district.
There’s more so read the rest. I know there’s a lot going on in the world and only so much space and energy can be devoted to legislative primaries, but this is a pretty important one and I wish it had gotten more news coverage. You at least can listen to the interviews I did with each of the candidates if you haven’t already done so. Here they are for your convenience, in the order they ran:
Karthik Soora
Michelle Bonton
Molly Cook
Rep. Jarvis Johnson
Todd Litton
Beto Cardenas
It’s a very competitive race in terms of fundraising, endorsements, candidate visibility, and more. I can make a case for just about every possible runoff combination. Get to know them and know who you’re voting for.