Meet Josh
A 7th Generation Texan
Howdy, folks! I’m Josh Tutt, and I like to think of myself as an average Texan. I grew up homeschooled in a conservative Christian household south of Dallas, and got my first job when I was 16 at a local family-owned lumber yard through a mentor from my local Boy Scout troop. I moved to College Station in 2011 and later graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Computer Science, and a minor in Psychology. I’ve worked locally in the Brazos Valley area in the Information Technology industry for over 7 years, and now I am lucky to live with my husband Rick and our dog Trinity in rural Burleson County, where we have started a vineyard together. In my spare time (after the yardwork and chores are done), I enjoy reading, storytelling, board games, and hiking at Lake Somerville State Park. I’ve built my life in Texas, and even put down roots in this soil.
A Background in Service
For my whole life, I’ve kept busy trying to make the world around me a better place. I learned reverence for nature as an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, learned leadership as a member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, and learned compassion as a volunteer trainer with the Student Counseling HelpLine (Texas A&M’s crisis prevention hotline). Currently, I serve as the Vice President of Pride Community Center, which services the Brazos Valley region and allows me to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups. In my professional life, I’ve organized community blood drives, Employee Resource Groups, coordinated charity drives, and lead volunteer events at the local food bank. My community matters to me, and I will continue to give back however I can.
A Strong Progressive Platform
My political passions prioritize environmental stewardship and climate justice, affordable quality healthcare access, voting rights and election integrity, and criminal justice reform. I see progressive policies as an effective means to be a good neighbor and to look out for each others’ wellbeing, all while benefitting the Texan economy via responsible industry innovation in green energy, cannabis cash crop agriculture, and rural infrastructure. With care, we can wield the power of government to do good things.
A Candidate You Can Count on
I’m running for office to make sure the voices of like-minded Texans do not go unheard and forgotten. Our neighbors need someone on the ballot that represents them and their values. Here I am, stepping up to the challenge. For most of the challenges I’ve overcome in my life, I’ve reinforced a key life lesson: the first step to success is to show up, and the second step is to keep showing up. You can count on me to keep showing up, and I hope to count on your vote.
Why the Bluebonnets?
Bluebonnets are iconic. Bluebonnets have been the State Flower of Texas since 1901. For over 120 years, their gorgeous deep blue petals have blanketed Texas’ green spaces, including our yards, parks, and alongside our highways. Taking pictures in the bluebonnets is a time honored Texan tradition (as well as being wary of snakes in the grass nearby), and they are an iconic symbol of Texas’ natural wild beauty.
Bluebonnets are everwhere. The abundance of bluebonnets and other wildflowers growing alongside the long Texas Highways is one of my favorite parts of living in Central Texas. And this isn’t by accident; in 1965, Lady Bird Johnson’s Highway Beautification Act guaranteed we’d keep our rural highways beautiful, providing a gentle reminder that governmental policies can enrich our daily lives.
Lady Bird Johnson saw roadside restoration as an opportunity to bring ecological richness, plant and animal biodiversity, and regional identity to what might otherwise be unhealthy, homogenous areas lined with billboards and invasive species.
The Highway Beautification Act, her signature achievement toward this goal, laid the groundwork for roadside enhancement and conservation; signed in 1965, the act celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. Restoring roadsides is a natural part of the Wildflower Center’s commitment to honor Mrs. Johnson’s vision and serve its own mission to create healthy landscapes with native plants.
Excerpt from: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Bluebonnets are beautiful. This goes without saying, of course, but watching a field of bluebonnets sway in the breeze always reminds me of how precious our natural green spaces are here in Texas. Groups like Keep Texas Beautiful (with a bluebonnet as their logo) and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department work hard to protect our state’s natural splendor and preserve it for generations to come.
About Senate District 18
Senate District 18 is a mostly rural district made up of 18 counties. The 14 whole counties are Aransas, Austin, Burleson, Calhoun, DeWitt, Fayette, Goliad, Gonzales, Grimes, Lavaca, Lee, Refugio, Victoria, and Washington. The 4 remaining counties – Fort Bend, Harris, Montgomery, and Waller – are only partially in Senate District 18, and yet make up over 61.5% of the districts’ population. You can explore the official Senate District maps and data on the State of Texas’ website: https://dvr.capitol.texas.gov/Senate/56/PLANS2168.
District Population Analysis with County Subtotals and Demographic Data (view full report here):
