DALLAS — It's a campaign that almost didn't happen.
"With my initial supporters I asked, 'If I ran for this, would you actually support this race? Knowing that I am going to be someone who is unapologetically who I am. Unapologetically Black. Unapologetically gay. Unapologetically me,'" Venton Jones said.
A resounding 'yes' pushed him forward and didn't waiver at the polls.
With 85% of the vote, Jones was elected to represent House District 100 in the Texas Legislature on Tuesday night.
"We won by huge margins, and that's not something I take lightly," Jones said.
Jones will be one of three openly gay, Black Texas lawmakers. Representative Jolanda Jones, a Democrat in Houston, was re-elected Tuesday after being elected during a special session in May. Voters in the Beaumont area elected Christian Manuel Hayes Tuesday.
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“I think it’s huge," Jones said. "Not just the number '3', with the people coming in, but what’s the most important piece of this, which is true for all of us, is we represent the House districts that we were born and raised in.”
Jones, who was born and raised in Oak Cliff, said his knowledge of South Dallas and the diversity of his own identify has prepared him for the job.
“It’s an amazing honor to be able to serve Dallas in this capacity right now, especially when so many of our communities are in need of strong leadership right now," Jones said. "I think that intersectionality of not only being a part of the LGBTQ community but someone who is part of the Black community…Someone who is from the community this house district is in gives me the experience that I need to go into this."
Jones said House District 100, in South Dallas, is made up of about 200,000 residents, with about 86% of those residents being people of color.
He said his election, as well as other diverse state lawmakers winning their elections shows a push for more representation at the Capitol.
“People want to see themselves in the people they elect in office," Jones said.