State Senator John Whitmire will run for mayor of Houston in 2023, when Mayor Sylvester Turner's final term ends. Whitmire is the longest running member of the current Texas Senate. He was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1982, after serving ten-years in the state House of Representatives.
A University of Houston grad, Whitmire majored in political science, paying his way through college working for the Texas State Welfare Department, though not completing his schooling until after he had won a seat the Texas House, then going on to get a law degree while still serving.
He is the Chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. In 2003, Whitmire was one of the Texas Eleven, a group of Democrats who denied a legislative quorum by fleeing to New Mexico.
His former sister-in-law, Kathy Whitmire, was Houston mayor from 1982 to 1991. He was her political mentor.
The Democratic lawmaker is the first prospective candidate to announce his intention to run for Houston mayor, though neither he nor anyone else has officially filed to run. Whitmire represents the state's 15th Senatorial District in north Houston and parts of Harris County.
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