The South Just Lost Its Only LGBTQ+ Member of Congress
Julie Johnson of Texas was the first LGBTQ+ member of Congress to represent a southern state.
Featured image: Julie Johnson; Photo Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Democrat U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, the first and only LGBTQ+ member of Congress from a southern state, lost her Dallas-area congressional primary runoff on Tuesday.
Former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred beat Johnson 53.9% to 46.1%, according to the Associated Press. Johnson had succeeded Allred in 2025 after Allred’s failed attempt to run against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz for the Senate.
Both Johnson and Allred were running in a newly drawn district after the state’s GOP redrew Texas’ congressional map to try to win more Republican seats. The newly created seat is made up of left-leaning areas, however.
Johnson is one of the currently 13 out LGBTQ+ members of Congress — 12 out representatives and one out senator.
“You know, it’s humbling, and it’s empowering, and it’s inspiring all at the same time,” Johnson told LGBTQ Nation last year. “It’s not lost on me what the visibility of my election represents and what it means to people, especially in red states where they don’t have a lot of folks in elected office that seem to be standing up for our community.”
She added, “And so the fact that I was able to win a congressional seat in a state like Texas is very significant, and it shows that progress can be made. We just have to be thoughtful and aggressive about putting ourselves in the arena and not be afraid.”
The lawmaker had received support from the Human Rights Campaign in Texas as well as local LGBTQ+ groups.
Allred served in Congress between 2019 and 2025, having flipped the previous district’s seat from Republican. He left his to challenge Cruz. Last year, Allred launched another bid for the Senate. However, he dropped out of that race after U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett entered it. Crockett eventually lost to state Rep. James Talarico in the Democratic Senate primary. Talarico will face anti-LGBTQ+ Ken Paxton in the midterms.
Johnson came second in the initial March 3 Democratic primary by 11 points, but since neither she nor Allred received more than half of the vote, a runoff was required.
In the months leading up to Tuesday’s runoff, both candidates had lobbed attacks at one another. Johnson had called out Allred’s previous support for President Donald Trump’s immigration-related legislation and his comments against former President Joe Biden’s border policies, The Texas Tribune reports. He’s since called for ICE to be abolished. Allred also received significant backing from an AI super PAC, according to the outlet.
The former congressman went after Johnson’s investments in Palantir, the Peter Thiel-linked tech company that has worked with ICE.
Back during his challenge to Cruz, Allred received criticism over a response to Cruz calling out Allred for supporting the Equality Act and opposing a GOP-led national ban on trans athletes on school sports teams, LGBTQ Nation reports. In an ad, Allred said, “So let me be clear. I don’t want boys playing girls sports, or any of this ridiculous stuff that Ted Cruz is saying.”
“Some defended Allred’s messaging, suggesting he may be trying to subtly convey that he doesn’t support boys in girls’ sports because he doesn’t view trans girls as boys,” independent journalist Erin Reed wrote at the time. “While this interpretation is possible, the statement is still likely to be heard as an anti-trans dogwhistle in Texas, where nearly every anti-trans ad has framed transgender girls as ‘boys.’ Since Allred had full control over the messaging in the ad, he could have avoided the dogwhistle by being clearer about his views and support for transgender youth.”
Allred faces Republican Patrick Gillespie in November.
After her loss, Johnson released a statement blaming Republican gerrymandering for “denying marginalized communities a real voice in their government.” She also urged voters to help flip Texas blue.
Johnson said that it had been “a sobering reminder of how much work remains to ensure every community is represented at the highest levels of government. This outcome means Texas — and likely the South as a whole — will lose openly LGBTQ representation in Congress … Our task now is to build the next generation of leaders who will ensure those voices are not absent for long.”
