Democrat Wins Key Election
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has won the Democratic runoff election to fill the vacant U.S. House seat once held by the late Sylvester Turner, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.
Menefee defeated former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards in Saturday’s special-election runoff. The contest followed an earlier election in which no candidate secured a majority, forcing the top two finishers into a second round.
Texas’ 18th Congressional District has historically voted Democratic and was widely expected to remain under Democratic control. However, the extended runoff process delayed Democrats from officially adding the seat to their House total for several months.
Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House, 218 to 213, with four seats vacant. Menefee’s victory slightly reduces that margin for the remainder of the current term, though the overall balance of power remains tight.
The special election drew a crowded field of sixteen candidates after Turner passed away in March. Turner himself had only recently been elected, having succeeded longtime lawmaker Sheila Jackson Lee, who died last summer.
Menefee will serve out the rest of Turner’s term but is already preparing for another election. He has filed to run for a full term in the district following last year’s redistricting, setting up a competitive Democratic primary that also includes Edwards and veteran Houston-area congressman Al Green.
