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Houston Prepares for Special Runoff Election After Year Without Congressional Representation
Houston voters will head to the polls Saturday to elect a new representative for the 18th Congressional District, ending nearly a year without representation in the U.S. House. The special runoff election pits Democrats Christian Menefee against Amanda Edwards in a contest that will temporarily narrow the slim Republican majority in Congress.
The winner will fill the seat left vacant by Sylvester Turner, the Democratic congressman who died on March 5, 2025, just two months into his term. Neither Menefee nor Edwards secured a majority in the crowded 16-candidate special election held on November 4, necessitating Saturday’s runoff.
Menefee, who received 29% of the vote in November, holds a slight edge over Edwards, who garnered 26%. The race has attracted significant endorsements, with former U.S. Rep. Erica Lee Carter backing Menefee, while State Rep. Jolanda Jones, who finished third in November with 19%, has thrown her support behind Edwards.
Campaign finance reports filed on January 11 show Menefee has spent approximately $1.8 million compared to Edwards’ $1.5 million. Menefee maintains a slight cash advantage with $389,000 in reserves versus Edwards’ $281,000.
The 18th District has long been a Democratic stronghold in Republican-dominated Texas. Both Turner and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried the district with approximately 69% of the vote in their respective races.
However, the winner’s tenure will be brief. Texas lawmakers redrew the state’s congressional districts last summer, and the current 18th District boundaries will not be used in the upcoming November midterm elections. The district, currently centered around Houston and entirely within Harris County, will be divided among nearly five districts in the new map, which analysts say favors Republicans.
The largest portion of the current district’s population will become part of the new 29th District, while the redrawn 18th District will include parts of Harris County and extend into Fort Bend County.
Meanwhile, about 300 miles away in Tarrant County, voters will also choose a new state senator in District 9. This special election runoff will fill the seat vacated by Republican Kelly Hancock, who left office in 2025 to become acting state comptroller.
Democrat Taylor Rehmet led the November 4 special election with 48% of the vote, falling short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Republican Leigh Wambsganss placed second with 36%, followed by fellow Republican John Huffman with 16%. Despite Rehmet’s strong showing, the district has historically favored Republicans, with former President Donald Trump carrying it with 58% of the vote in 2024.
The winner will complete Hancock’s unexpired term, although the Texas Senate is not scheduled to reconvene until 2027. Republicans currently hold an 18-11 majority in the chamber, with two previously Republican-held seats vacant.
Polling stations will close at 7 p.m. CST on Saturday. Early voting turnout has been modest, with nearly 14,000 ballots already cast in the 18th Congressional District and about 45,000 in state Senate District 9 as of Tuesday.
Election officials note that while initial results typically include early and absentee votes, a significant portion of early voting results in Harris County won’t be available until February 6. This delay stems from a two-day extension of early voting after some polling sites were closed due to inclement weather. These votes will be processed as provisional ballots.
In November’s special election, approximately 76,000 people voted in the 18th District, representing about 20% of the district’s 381,000 registered voters. Slightly more than half of those voters cast their ballots early or absentee.
The special election comes as three other congressional seats remain vacant across the country in California, Georgia, and New Jersey, highlighting the fluid nature of congressional representation heading into a crucial election year.
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5 Comments
This runoff election in Texas’s 18th Congressional District sounds like an important one. I’m curious to see how the endorsements and campaign spending will impact the outcome. It will be interesting to see if the winner can help break the narrow Republican majority in the House.
The district has been without representation for almost a year, so the voters will likely be eager to get a new voice in Congress.
It’s good to see significant campaign spending and high-profile endorsements for this runoff. That suggests the candidates and parties see this as an important race. Curious to see if the winner can bring a fresh perspective to Congress.
The margin between the top two candidates in the initial special election was fairly small, so this runoff should be close. I wonder what the key issues are that are motivating voters in this district.
With the slim Republican majority in the House, this race could have national implications beyond just the local district.