Texas State Senate District 18 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Texas, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Texas State Senate District 18 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Texas State Senate District 18

Incumbent Lois Kolkhorst defeated Josh Tutt in the general election for Texas State Senate District 18 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lois Kolkhorst (R)	66.2	186,367
		Josh Tutt (D)	33.8	95,287

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 281,654
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

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Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Josh Tutt (D)

Better Rural Infrastructure. Texans deserve a power grid that’s reliable and maintains our position as a world leader in energy. Rural Texans deserve access to high speed internet and dependable cell signal to keep up with virtual business and education opportunities.

Invest in Public Education. Teachers deserve trust and good compensation. Students deserve well-supplied and staffed schools. Retirees deserve robust benefits. Our educators deserve our best, and we can start by providing them the funding they need.

Expand Healthcare Access. Let’s bring our tax money back to Texas by expanding Medicaid with federal funding. We can reverse the trend of rural hospital closures, support telemedicine, and reduce the number of uninsured Texans.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Josh Tutt (D)

Voting rights are extremely important to me, as everything else depends on it. Many of the battles for LGBTQIA+ rights depend on the legislators we vote for. Environmental stewardship, conservation, and climate action depend on laws and regulations that are passed by the lawmakers we elect. Ensuring we have a reliable modernized electrical grid requires us to have competent elected officials. Safe abortion access, decriminalizing marijuana, supporting our teachers, defending workers' rights... these are all dictated by policy, enacted by legislation passed by the people we choose at the voting booth. I'm passionate about all these issues and more, but every single one of them is dependent on the protection and expansion of voting rights.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Josh Tutt (D)

I believe the most important qualities for an elected official are honesty and empathy. It’s not possible to represent someone else’s best interests if you are not attuned and attentive to their best interests. You’ll never hear what lays heavy on someone’s heart if you haven’t fostered the trust necessary to build that relationship.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Josh Tutt (D)

In college, I volunteered over 1,000 hours with the Student Counseling HelpLine, Texas A&M University's crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline. We trained in Active Listening skills that helped us put aside our preconceptions and personal biases in order to make sure every caller was truly heard. I know how to listen. Texans need their voices to be heard.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Josh Tutt (D)

In short, I would like to have made life better for as many folks as possible, and to inspire others to do the same. I'd like to pave the way for future candidates and legislators who might otherwise have thought the job was too big or too far out of their reach. I'd like to instill hope and passion in my neighbors to step up and be there for each other, both in our communities and on the ballot.

I hope to show people they have the power to make the world a better place for each other in a very real and tangible way.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Josh Tutt (D)

I remember the Y2K scare that happened at the turn of the millennium. I was all of 8 years old, but I was already learning how much of our world was built on computers and rapidly-advancing technologies. I grew up with dialup internet and floppy disks and I graduated college with cloud storage solutions and 5G networks on the horizon. The change has been drastic. Technology is fast, and we need informed experts to help guide society into the future with ethics and a focus on the human experience.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Josh Tutt (D)

I got my first job when I was 16 years old. One of my Scoutmasters hired me at his family-owned lumber yard and hardware store, Phillip’s Lumber in Cedar Hill, Texas, and I worked there until the business closed after his passing. I helped all across the store; filling and placing lumber orders for contractors, mixing and matching paints, ordering restock supplies from our vendors, and helping people find what they needed to get the job done. I saw firsthand the work that goes into keeping a small business afloat. My experience there shaped my work ethic and my dedication to supporting small and local businesses.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Josh Tutt (D)

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. It's a complex story about war that shows it's never as simple and easy as "good guys vs bad guys", and the virtue of uniting people. It gave me one of my favorite quotes:

"The most important step a man can take. It's not the first one, is it? It's the next one. Always the next step."

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Josh Tutt (D)

“22 (Taylor’s Version)” by Taylor Swift seems an appropriate answer here.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Josh Tutt (D)

Texas’ population is growing rapidly and we are not prepared for what’s coming. Our healthcare and education systems, our water, electric, and internet utilities, and our roadway and housing infrastructures all need to be ready for this population boom to continue. When faced with the current and future impacts of climate change, including increased threat of drought, hurricanes, flooding, and rising sea levels, it’s imperative we have the foresight to mitigate damage and harm to our communities while we prepare for growth.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Josh Tutt (D)

We need Texans with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds to be representing us as state legislators. Teachers, lawyers, healthcare professionals, caretakers, software developers, energy and technology workers, restaurant and service industry professionals, union workers, minimum wage workers…the list should be as diverse as the people of our state. Laws are not written solely by legislators, but with the assistance of their staff, research assistants, activists, advocates, and so many other voices.

Texans deserve lawmakers with more diverse experience than just being career lawmakers.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Josh Tutt (D)

In partisan politics, it’s easy to dismiss people on “the other side” as an adversary, and to assume everyone on “our side” is an ally. These are foolish assumptions, however, and certainly not productive towards the goal of passing meaningful legislation. In order to pass good bills (and to stop bad bills), we’ve got to have friends in the right places. I hope to work closely with my caucuses to build functional and strategic relationships across the entire State Senate. Kamala Harris was right: "Our unity is our strength, and our diversity is our power. We reject the myth of ‘us’ vs. ‘them.’ We are in this together."

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Josh Tutt (D)

Redistricting should be a non-partisan process. District maps should not be drawn by representatives choosing their voters via advantageous district lines. They should, instead, accurately reflect whole communities, such that the people can fairly choose their representation.

During my testimony before the Senate Redistricting Committee, I demanded a non-partisan redistricting commission that did not view or use partisan data. I asked for public hearings with public testimony after Census data was released and before maps were decided. Additionally, I asked for explanations for any deviations from standard practices and how these maps would impact the ability of historically disenfranchised groups. These suggestions were largely ignored, as the proposed district maps disregard the growth of black and brown communities and instead consolidate power for GOP incumbents.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Josh Tutt (D)

I hope to advocate for Texas teachers by serving on the Education committee. They deserve someone on the committee who is going to listen to them and carry their voices into the Legislature, which has a long history of protecting private interests instead.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Josh Tutt (D)

Representative Brian Sims from Pennsylvania demonstrates an amazing capacity to center people and spotlight struggles that aren't his own with both compassion and sincerity while facing off against hostile peers. He carries other people's experiences with him and lives as his fullest, most authentic self in the heat of partisan politics.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

Josh Tutt (D)

No, not at this time. I am only focused on representing my neighbors in the Texas State Legislature.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Josh Tutt (D)

I was speaking with voters in Austin County when one woman’s story of feeling she needed to hide her political beliefs in order to feel safe in her community really struck me.

I’ve heard from so many of my neighbors that they are worried, nervous, or even scared to talk with their own next door neighbors about anything remotely political. The hyperpartisan divide gripping our country is dividing and isolating our own communities.

The woman I met in Austin County shared that she was afraid to be "outed" at work. The way my neighbors talk about hiding their true selves for fear of being exiled or shunned strikes such a strong parallel to the times I've shared stories with LGBTQIA+ folks in rural spaces who face the same struggles.

I think the way we fix this is by having those hard, cross-partisan conversations with friends and family because, no matter if we agree or not, we need to reconcile with the fact that we are not enemies, we are neighbors.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Josh Tutt (D)

Yes. This is a key feature of our ‘checks and balances’ that are meant to prevent abuse of power by the executive branch.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Josh Tutt (D)

I know that compromise will be necessary, especially as a progressive Democrat in the Texas State Legislature. In these extremely partisan times, compromise and negotiation are required in order to achieve our goals. However, I also recognize that there are people in power who would trample progress in our state in order to maintain the status quo, and I know that means we’re going to need to be ready to stand our ground when the time comes. Bargaining power is not in infinite supply as part of the minority party, and successful strategies must include the ability to both compromise and prioritize.

See also

More about these elections:

• Texas State Senate elections, 2022

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