Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, as predicted, is delaying Houston’s Congressional District 18 race to November, blaming Harris County’s elections department for being the worst in the state.
The governor issued a proclamation Monday afternoon announcing a special election on November 4 to fill the seat vacated by the late Congressman and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
“No county in Texas does a worse job of conducting elections than Harris County,” Abbott said in a public statement. “They repeatedly fail to conduct elections consistent with state law. Safe and secure elections are critical to the foundation of our state. Forcing Harris County to rush this special election on weeks’ notice would harm the interests of voters. The appropriate time to hold the election is November, which will give Harris County sufficient time to prepare for such an important election.”
Turner died on March 5. Prior to Turner’s election in November, Congressional District 18 was represented by Sheila Jackson Lee for almost three decades. Jackson Lee also died in office in July 2024.
Several candidates rushed to file for the seat after Turner’s funeral last month including Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards, former Jackson Lee adviser Isaiah Martin and Fifth Ward community advocate James Joseph, all Democrats. 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. Democrats Robert Slater and Kivan Polmis have filed intent to run and are joined by Republican Cyrus Sanja and Independents Derrell Sherrod Turner and Khristopher Beal. Candidates have until September 3 to file paperwork with the Secretary of State.
It’s widely believed that Abbott delayed the election not because Harris County does a poor job of counting ballots but to create a delay so House Speaker Mike Johnson can hold onto his five-seat GOP majority through the end of the year.
“There’s clearly quite a bit for Governor Abbott and Republicans to gain by delaying this election to November instead of fast-tracking it for May,” Rice University political science professor Mark Jones told the Houston Press last month. “While the governor will get some heat for essentially playing hardball politics with this, he is operating fully within the letter of the law of Texas in that it does provide the governor with substantial discretion compared to the greater constraints placed on Governor Abbott’s peers who have had to or will have to call special elections.”
Nancy Sims, a University of Houston political science lecturer, said Monday it’s good that the election date has been set but she was disappointed by the dig at Harris County elections.
“It’s a good time to vote because people are accustomed to voting in November, even though it’s an off year,” Sims said. “There will likely be a couple of constitutional amendments or other things on the ballot that will be bringing people out to vote.”
Sims went on to say that the criticism of Harris County elections was unfounded.
“The 2024 election ran smoothly and even [longtime Republican] Senator Bettencourt complimented how well the election went, so it was disappointing to hear the governor complain about that. I think it was more of a defensive mechanism on his part than a factual assessment of Harris County’s ability to manage elections.”
Audits of Harris County elections in 2020 and 2022 highlighted voter data discrepancies that led to fraud claims. Oversight was transferred from the county elections administrator back to the county clerk and the process has significantly improved in recent cycles, Sims said.
Prior to Monday’s announcement, Menefee threatened to sue the governor’s office for delaying the election. Another District 18 candidate, Isaiah Martin, reacted to this week’s election date announcement by calling Abbott a “wuss.”
“Again he caved to Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress who are obviously scared of anyone actually voting on their economy-crashing agenda,” Martin said in a press release. “Having almost a year without representation in the heart of Houston is an affront to the constitution and our city, and further signifies a Republican party scared of the people.”
A November election will likely result in a runoff and the winner could take office in late December or early January 2026. That means District 18 is without representation for the rest of the year. Sims pointed out that the victor will have to run again in a March 2026 primary.
“I’m glad they have a date and it’s definitive,” Sims said. “The other thing to keep in mind is that whoever wins that election will then be filing in December for the March primaries because it’s to fill an unexpired term. If you’re running for this seat, you’re in for a long haul of campaigning.”
University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus said whoever wins the interim seat in November of this year will likely keep it for a very long time. Now that a date has been set, more candidates will join the race, he added.
“It’s most often the case these days in politics that an early start gets you a significant lead,” he said. “The proclamation from the governor will open the floodgates. We’ll see everybody who’s likely to run announce within the next couple of weeks. If they don’t, it will look like they’re just fighting from behind. The only complicating force here is for somebody like Jolanda Jones, she’s in the Lege currently … [She’s] working more than full-time in Austin. They may want to postpone things until after the session is done but that risks waiting for too long to get their names in the mix.”
It appears Menefee is “the one to beat, but there’s still a lot of time between now and November,” Rottinghaus said.
“Menefee … has a prime position to be able to channel a lot of the Democratic dissatisfaction with both what’s happening in D.C. and in Austin,” he said. “This gives him a very powerful perch to make his messaging more clear. In effect, he’s doing double duty. He can do his job and fulfill his responsibilities as county attorney but also leverage that into aggressive messaging for an audience for the 18th.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
