Libertarian Candidate Challenges for Open Texas House Seat

With Texas House District 15 set to become an open seat in January, Libertarian candidate Jessi Cowart is hoping to give voters an alternative to the two major political parties while bringing her experience in party leadership and project management to the Texas Capitol.

Photo Credit: Jessi Cowart for Texas Facebook Page

The seat is currently held by Republican Steve Toth, who defeated incumbent Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw in the Republican primary for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District in March. With Toth now preparing for Congress, House District 15 will have a new representative next year, creating an opportunity for candidates outside the traditional Republican and Democratic political structure.

For Cowart, the decision to run has been years in the making. She has spent years involved with the Libertarian Party of Texas, supporting political campaigns and participating in the legislative process. She previously served as vice chair of the state Libertarian Party and remains a member of its executive committee.

Cowart said her decision to finally seek public office was closely tied to her family. Her children are now young adults and preparing for their senior year of college, giving her the freedom to pursue something she had considered for years.

“With my kids now being young adults,” Cowart said, “it felt like now was the time to make that leap from party leadership or a party office over into public office.”

Cowart is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County, where her family has deep roots. Three generations of her family have lived in the community since her grandfather built his first house there in 1970. Cowart and her husband, Bobby, are both graduates of Oak Ridge High School, where they met, and their children are second-generation War Eagles.

Outside of politics, Cowart works as an IT Project Manager. She says that experience has taught her how to manage competing priorities, control costs, and make decisions about where limited resources should be spent. Those are skills she believes are badly needed in government.

Her political philosophy centers on three principles: limited government, fiscal responsibility, and civil liberties.

“It’s really about limited government and fiscal responsibility to me and civil liberties,” Cowart said, describing those three principles as her “true North” as a Libertarian.

Cowart believes government has grown beyond its proper role and argues that Texas has reached a point where lawmakers should be asking whether additional spending is necessary before continuing to expand government programs.

“I do believe that government has gotten too big,” she said, arguing that government should “stay in its lane” and return to what she considers its proper responsibilities.

Cowart also pointed to the size of the state budget as evidence that Texas lawmakers should take a harder look at government spending. She argued that Texas has more revenue available than it knows how to spend responsibly, and that some of that money would be better returned to taxpayers through property tax relief.

Her criticism is not limited to Democrats or the federal government. Cowart said the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature has also approved spending that she believes falls outside the proper role of government. She pointed specifically to the state’s investment in incentives for the film industry, calling the $1.5 billion commitment over the next decade “absurd.”

For Cowart, fiscal restraint is not simply a campaign slogan. She sees it as a principle that should apply to every level of government and every political party.

Civil liberties represent another area where Cowart believes her Libertarian views could sometimes put her closer to Democrats than Republicans, while fiscal issues may put her closer to Republicans. Rather than viewing that as a problem, she sees it as an opportunity to work with lawmakers from both parties. That approach could be particularly important if she wins in a district where she would be one of 150 members of a Republican-dominated Texas House.

“There’s so many things where Libertarians have overlap with the Republican Party and the Democrat party,” Cowart said, “and really there’s areas where we have overlap across all three parties.”

One of the issues she believes could provide common ground is civil asset forfeiture. Cowart argues that the practice has supporters and critics across the political spectrum and believes there is an opportunity to build a coalition for reform.

“All of the major three parties in Texas agree that this is effectively legalized theft and it should be abolished,” she said.

Cowart believes the challenge is not necessarily convincing lawmakers that an issue deserves attention, but finding enough common ground to actually get legislation passed.

“There is at least one or two bills to reform civil asset forfeiture in every session,” she said, “that legislation dies.”

Her strategy would be to identify issues where Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians already agree and use those areas of agreement to move legislation forward.

“There’s gonna be things where maybe I’m a little bit more aligned with the Democrat party,” Cowart said, “and there’s gonna be things maybe more aligned with the Republican party.”

She believes that staying consistent with her principles while maintaining respectful relationships with lawmakers could allow her to have an impact even without belonging to either major party.

“Staying true to my principles and working with people across party lines,” she said, “in a respectful and common sense way is where I might be able to make some inroads and really start moving the needle towards more liberty in Texas.”

Running as a Libertarian presents a different set of challenges than running as a Republican or Democrat. Cowart does not have access to the same political infrastructure, fundraising networks, campaign vendors, or volunteer organizations that typically support candidates from the two major parties. She does not view that entirely as a disadvantage.

“Being a Libertarian kind of puts me at an advantage,” Cowart said, arguing that her political philosophy gives her “a keen understanding of what is a want versus a need.”

That philosophy also influences how she intends to spend her campaign dollars. Cowart said she is focused on getting the greatest possible return from every contribution, using digital advertising, campaign signs, and printed materials to reach voters while continuing to build her name recognition in the district.

For Cowart, the campaign itself is an opportunity to demonstrate the same fiscal discipline she wants to bring to government.

“It makes me be more diligent about the choices that I’m making in terms of spend and where I want to allocate resources,” she said, “and really get the most bang for my buck.”

Cowart acknowledges that a Libertarian candidate is unlikely to match the spending of the Republican and Democratic campaigns, but she believes money is not the only measure of a campaign’s strength.

“I may be outspent,” Cowart said, “but I will never be outworked.”

She plans to spend the campaign knocking on doors, meeting voters, and making the most of the resources available to her. Her goal is not simply to compete in November, but to establish herself as a serious political figure in Montgomery County and build support for the Libertarian Party in future elections.

Cowart is no longer the vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Texas, having chosen not to seek reelection after deciding to run for public office. She remains a member of the state Libertarian executive committee, bringing years of experience inside the party with her into the campaign.

The race for House District 15 will give voters an opportunity to decide whether they want to continue with the traditional two-party model or consider a candidate who argues that political independence can coexist with practical governing.

Cowart is presenting herself as that alternative, emphasizing limited government, fiscal responsibility, civil liberties, and a willingness to work with lawmakers regardless of their party affiliation.

“I’m running to bring balance back to Austin with a voice of reason, respect, and liberty,” Cowart said.