MYSQL UPDATE TEXT field not working - mysql

Question

I'm trying to update a TEXT field in a MYSQL table. I can't get the UPDATE query to work, even though the original INSERT attempt works fine when the user doesn't exist.
The purpose of the function is to INSERT new row if the user doesn't exist yet, and to UPDATE the textColumn (that always contains a JSON) if the user already exists in the table.
My code:
let first = 'jake';
let last = 'mcdonald';
let first_json = JSON.stringify({a:7, b:7});
let second_json = JSON.stringify({a:'updated'});
const row = {
name: first,
last_name: last,
textColumn: first_json,
}
db.query(`SELECT * FROM tableName
WHERE name="${first}"
AND last_name="${last}"`, (err, result) => {
if (err) console.log(err);
if (result.length < 1) {
db.query(`INSERT INTO tableName SET ?`, row, (err, result) => {
console.log('NEW ROW CREATED: ', result);
})
} else if (result.length > 0) {
console.log('ROW EXISTS');
db.query(`UPDATE tableName
SET textColumn=${second_json}
WHERE name="${first}"
AND last_name="${last}"`, (err, result) => {
console.log('UPDATED: ', result);
}
)
}
}
)
the else if section is what is giving me issues: I reach the inside console.log('ROW EXISTS') but the Update query logs "undefined".
The same UPDATE query works if I try to UPDATE tableName SET name="someNewName" WHERE last_name="original_last_name", but nothing happens when I try to UPDATE the textColumn.