When Rain Eatmon was 8 years old, then-Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee presented a proclamation at her church, Sweet Home Missionary Baptist. Eatmon says she knew right then that she wanted to be a community leader just like Jackson Lee.
Eatmon, now 33 and a native of Houston’s Acres Homes community, announced Thursday that she’s running for U.S. Congressional District 18, the seat held by Jackson Lee for three decades and most recently vacated by former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who died in March.
“When my mom told me what [Jackson Lee’s] job was, it lit a fire in me to want to do the same thing,” Eatmon said. “As I grew up in Acres Homes and started to see some of the inequities, it really drove me to want to do more for my community.”
The candidate is running as a Democrat and is up against some heavy hitters, including Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards. But Eatmon is no stranger to politics. Before founding Acres Homes Community Advocacy Group in 2022, Eatmon worked as a special projects coordinator for Texas Rep. Jarvis Johnson and for Houston City Council Member Tarsha Jackson.
Eatmon, who graduated from Texas Southern University with a degree in music performance, is particularly interested in providing access to affordable housing and reducing pollutants and cancer clusters.
“I think what I can bring, and what sets me apart, is that I work more closely with the matriarchs and the patriarchs of individual communities,” she said. “I’m not afraid to talk to anybody; I’ve never met a stranger. I am really excited to get to know more people who have kind of been left out of the conversation.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott could have called the election in May, but he didn’t and instead took a jab at how Harris County runs elections. Voters will cast ballots for their District 18 representative on November 4. It’s widely believed that Abbott delayed the election, not because Harris County does a poor job of counting ballots but so U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson can hold onto his razor-thin GOP majority through the end of the year.
Former Jackson Lee adviser Isaiah Martin, Fifth Ward community advocate James Joseph, Robert Slater and Kivan Polmis, all Democrats, have also entered the CD 18 race. At-Large Houston City Council
member Letitia Plummer and state Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, have said they are considering bids.
The “dark blue” district serves about 800,000 residents in downtown, part of the Heights, Acres Homes, Third Ward, northeast Houston and the area surrounding George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Humble. CD 18 has had Democratic representation since it was redistricted to Houston in 1972. In addition to a full slate of Democratic candidates, Republican Cyrus Sanja and Independents Derrell Sherrod Turner and Khristopher Beal will appear on the ballot for the special election. Candidates have until September 3 to file paperwork with the Secretary of State.
Democrats are missing the mark in some areas, Eatmon said.
“As a trained musician, I can safely say that the Democratic Party is a little out of tune and a little out of step with the needs of the residents of District 18,” she said. “They need somebody who’s not only going to fight but who’s going to be transparent and talk them through the game plan of how we can fight for our communities together.”
Eatmon said she has nothing but high praise for her opponents and looks forward to reigniting the fire that Sheila Jackson Lee instilled in District 18 residents.
“We are not just going to silently wait for our turn to speak,” she said. “We have been powerful. We have been loud. We have been rowdy, and now is not the time to just fold our hands in our laps and wait for someone to save us. We’ve been saving ourselves. And now it’s just under new management.”
“We are not just going to silently wait for our turn to speak. We have been powerful. We have been loud. We have been rowdy, and now is not the time to just fold our hands in our laps and wait for someone to save us. We’ve been saving ourselves. And now it’s just under new management.”
The University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs issued a report this month surveying Congressional District 18 voters on the upcoming special election. Menefee and Edwards were analyzed as the most recognizable individuals in the race, and the report also mentions potential candidates Jolanda Jones and Texas Rep. Christina Morales. However, survey results show that more than half of the district’s registered voters said they don’t know enough about the candidates to favor any particular hopeful.
A November election will likely result in a runoff and the winner could take office in late December or early January, political experts have said. Because the race is to fill an unexpired term, the winner of the November election will have to run again in a primary in March 2026.
