The residents of Texas’ 18th District have come a step closer to full representation in Congress, with a pair of Democrats emerging as the top two finishers in Tuesday’s nonpartisan special election to succeed the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner.
Christian Menefee, the acting Harris County attorney, was leading Amanda Edwards, a former Houston City Council member, 32 percent to 26 percent, when The Associated Press called the two spots at 12:51 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday. The crowded primary also featured state Rep. Jolanda Jones, who was trailing in third place with 18 percent.
Since no one took a majority of the primary vote, Menefee and Edwards will compete in a runoff, likely in February, to fill the remainder of Turner’s term. The Houston-area district has been vacant since March 5, when Turner, a former Houston mayor, died at 70.
Many Democrats, including Menefee and Edwards, were critical of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to schedule the special election in November, leaving district residents without a representative in Washington for eight months and counting. (The seat was also vacant for months last year after the death of longtime Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.) Abbott said Harris County election officials needed time to prepare.
The campaign for the 18th District drew more than a dozen candidates, including George Foreman IV, son of the boxing legend, who ran as an independent; Gen Z Democrat Isaiah Martin, a former aide to Jackson Lee; and Republican businesswoman Carmen Maria Montiel, a former television journalist and former Miss Venezuela.
Recent Republican-led redistricting in Texas caused some voter confusion about the special election. While the 18th District lines have been redrawn under the new map, the special election, including the runoff, is taking place under the old lines.
After the runoff, voters will head to the polls in March to select their nominees for the November 2026 ballot, this time under the new district lines. Whoever wins the race to serve out Turner’s term could find themselves facing Democratic Rep. Al Green in that March primary. Green, whose 9th District was redrawn as a safe Republican seat, has signaled he’s considering a run in the new 18th, which subsumes much of his current district.
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