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Julie Johnson (politician)

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Julie Johnson
Official House portrait of Johnson smiling in front of the U.S. flag, wearing a black jacket and silver necklace.
Official portrait, 2024
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 32nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2025
Preceded byColin Allred
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 115th district
In office
January 9, 2019 – January 3, 2025
Preceded byMatt Rinaldi
Succeeded byCassandra Hernandez
Personal details
BornJulie Elizabeth Johnson
(1966-05-02) May 2, 1966 (age 60)
Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Spouse
Susan Moster
​
(m. 2014)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Texas, Austin (BA)
University of Houston (JD)
SignatureJulie Johnson's signature
WebsiteHouse website
Campaign website

Julie Elizabeth Johnson[1] (born May 2, 1966)[2][3] is an American politician and attorney serving as a U.S. representative from Texas's 32nd congressional district since 2025. Previously, she served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 2019 to 2025. An out lesbian, Johnson is the first openly LGBTQ+ member of Congress from a Southern state.[4] She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Johnson was first elected to Congress in 2024, succeeding Colin Allred, who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate instead of re-election. She ran for re-election in 2026, but lost renomination to Allred in a primary runoff.[5]

Education

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Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center.[6]

Career

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Johnson defeated incumbent Republican Matt Rinaldi in the 2018 Texas House of Representatives elections. She is one of Dallas County's first two openly gay legislators, and the first member of the Texas House with a spouse of the same gender.[7][8]

In 2021, Johnson and the Texas House Democratic Caucus left the state, traveling to Washington D.C. in order to delay voting on any new bills in a special July session.[9] Texas House Republicans voted to arrest the elected members to compel their attendance, though they did not have the jurisdiction to do so.[10]

In June 2023, Johnson announced that she would run for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 32nd congressional district in the 2024 elections, as incumbent Colin Allred was running for the U.S. Senate.[11] She defeated Brian Williams in the Democratic Party primary election[12] and won the November general election.[13]

Based on the 2025 Texas redistricting, Johnson filed to run for election in Texas's 33rd congressional district.[14] Allred, who initially announced a campaign for U.S. Senate, dropped out of that race and announced plans to challenge Johnson in the 33rd district in December 2025.[15] Allred defeated Johnson in the primary runoff on May 26, 2026, with Johnson receiving 46% of the vote to Allred's 54%.[16]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Tenure

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Johnson was sworn in to the 119th United States Congress on January 3, 2025.

Committee assignments

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Caucus memberships

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Personal life

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Johnson came out as a lesbian in 1991.[19] She and her wife, Susan Moster, married in San Francisco in 2014.[8]

Electoral history

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2024 Texas's 32nd congressional district Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Julie Johnson 17,633 50.4
Democratic Brian Williams 6,704 19.2
Democratic Justin Moore 2,483 7.1
Democratic Jan McDowell 1,722 4.9
Democratic Zachariah Manning 1,617 4.6
Democratic Raja Chaudhry 1,258 3.6
Democratic Callie Butcher 1,169 3.3
Democratic Kevin Felder 1,101 3.1
Democratic Alex Cornwallis 909 2.6
Democratic Chris Panayiotou 361 1.0
Total votes 34,957 100.0
2024 Texas's 32nd congressional district election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Julie Johnson 138,545 61.9
Republican Darrell Day 85,170 38.1
Total votes 223,715 100.0
2026 Texas's 33rd congressional district Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Colin Allred 31,482 44.0
Democratic Julie Johnson (incumbent) 23,770 33.2
Democratic Carlos Quintanilla 10,276 14.3
Democratic Zeeshan Hafeez 6,083 8.5
Total votes 71,611 100.0
2026 Texas's 33rd congressional district Democratic primary runoff
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Colin Allred 11,354 54.0
Democratic Julie Johnson (incumbent) 9,677 46.0
Total votes 21,031 100.0

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Rep. Julie Johnson - D Texas, 32nd- Biography". LegiStorm. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Rep. Julie Johnson - D Texas, 32nd, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com.
  3. ↑ "Congressmember Elect Julie Johnson - Texas State Directory Online". www.txdirectory.com.
  4. ↑ People Staff (November 6, 2024). "Julie Johnson Opens Up About Making LGBTQ+ History in Texas House Race: 'I'm Going to Be a Force' (Exclusive)". People.
  5. ↑ "Texas 18th Congressional District Runoff 2026: Live Election Results, Green vs. Menefee". The New York Times. May 26, 2026. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Julie Johnson, candidate for United States Representative". Dallas News.
  7. ↑ "Julie Johnson Heads To Austin As One Of Dallas County's First Two Openly Gay Legislators". KERA-TV. January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  8. 1 2 Barragán, James (January 2, 2019). "Openly gay Dallas County lawmaker Julie Johnson is making history in the Texas House, and so is her wife". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Inside the secret plan for the Texas Democratic exodus: A phone tree, a scramble to pack and a politically perilous trip". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  10. ↑ Svitek, Patrick; Pollock, Cassandra (July 13, 2021). "Texas House Republicans vote to track down absent Democrats and arrest them if necessary". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  11. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (June 20, 2023). "State Rep. Julie Johnson announces she is running for U.S. Rep. Colin Allred's seat". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Democrat Julie Johnson wins primary race to replace U.S. Rep. Colin Allred". Dallas News. March 6, 2024.
  13. ↑ Migdon, Brooke (November 5, 2024). "Julie Johnson becomes first openly LGBTQ person to serve Texas in Congress". The Hill. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  14. ↑ Jefferson, Scoop (December 5, 2025). "US Rep. Julie Johnson running for Congress in new Dallas district after Republican redistricting". ABC 8. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  15. ↑ Birenbaum, Gabby (December 8, 2025). "Colin Allred drops Senate bid, pivots to run for Congress". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Former Rep. Colin Allred knocks off Rep. Julie Johnson in Texas House runoff". POLITICO. May 26, 2026. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  17. ↑ "About the CEC". CEC. April 4, 2025. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Caucus Members". Black Maternal Health Caucus. June 15, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Julie Johnson Becomes First LGBTQ+ Person Elected to Congress in the South: 'I'm Going to Be a Force' (Exclusive)". People.com.
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