Garnet Coleman, who retired in February that gave her the seat through December. She won the special election May 7 in the Houston-area Texas House District 147 to succeed Rep. Thanks to victories in primary runoffs Tuesday, Texas is poised to have its first Black gay male state legislators - and one Black lesbian, who won a special election just weeks ago to fill a vacancy, is likely to be elected to a full term.īefore Jolanda Jones’s victory in the special election, Texas had never had a Black member of the LGBTQ+ community in the state legislature.
From left: Jolanda Jones, Christian Manuel-Hayes, and Venton Jones
