Depending on where you live, you may have voted in the May 4 election for school board trustee positions, bonds, and appraisal district board seats. And if you live in Senate District 15, a senate race was on your ballot. 

Voter turnout was low all over Texas, but the voters that did turn out supported our public schools. There were approximately 183 school district bond propositions on ballots statewide totaling around $9.9 billion. Approximately 74% passed, which means voters approved $7.49 billion in bond funding for schools. 

In Senate District 15, there was a special election to fill the remainder of former Senator John Whitmire’s (D-Houston) term, which ends prior to the start of the next legislative session in January of 2025. Whitmire resigned in December to become the mayor of Houston.  

Only 3% of registered voters turned out to vote. Fifty-seven percent of those who turned out voted for Senator-Elect Molly Cook over Rep. Jarvis Johnson (D-Houston), who spent eight years in the Texas House. The fight for Senate District (SD) 15 isn’t over, though. On May 28, voters will return to the polls for the state primary runoff to decide who will appear on the November general election ballot. The winner of that election will go on to run against Republican nominee Joseph Trahan in the general election to determine who will serve as the Senator for SD 15 for the next 4 years.  

In the March primaries, there were 32 state and federal races in which no candidate won more than half of the vote. The top two vote getters in each of these races will face off again in the May 28 runoff elections. To see if you live in a district heading back to the polls (again) on May 28, visit The Texas Tribune’s page Texas Voting 2024 Runoff Elections.