Houston candidates pitching themselves to replace the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on November ballot

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WASHINGTON — The race to succeed U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in her Houston district is already underway, with at least three local politicians considering bids.

Among the declared and potential Democratic candidates are former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, state Rep. Jarvis Johnson and Houston Councilwoman Letitia Plummer. Amanda Edwards, who finished second in the district’s original primary this year, says she is still interested in “serving this community.”

However, since Jackson Lee already won her Democratic primary earlier this year, voters won’t be the ones to decide who will replace her on the November ballot. Instead, candidates will be making their case to a group of Harris County Democratic officials.

The long-serving congresswoman died from pancreatic cancer on July 19, leaving her seat open for the first time in three decades and with just months to go before the general election.

The nominee will face Republican Lana Centonze in November. The district is solidly blue, however, so the Democratic nominee is presumed to win. The 18th Congressional District is one of two Houston seats that has historically been held by Black Democrats, and Jackson Lee faced minimal challenges over her 15 terms in Washington.

The Democratic Party’s executive committee for the 18th Congressional District has until Aug. 26 under state law to choose a replacement for her on the November ballot. The committee is made up of the 88 elected Democratic precinct chairs within the district. Potential candidates will have a chance to explain their positions and priorities to the chairs.

Candidates seeking the Democratic nomination will be invited to a televised candidate forum on Aug. 10.

Local party officials have not yet said when they will convene a meeting to decide the nominee, but such a meeting must take place at least 10 days before the deadline.

Separate from the question of who will replace her on the ballot, is whether someone will be elected to finish her existing term in office through the end of the year.

Gov. Greg Abbott has the authority to call a special election to fill the seat for the remainder of the term, which would put the decision up to voters. Abbott has not said whether he will make such a call, and state law does not require him to do so.

Johnson was the only declared candidate as of Tuesday afternoon. The Houston representative has served in the Texas House since 2016 and previously served on the Houston City Council. He ran earlier this year for a state Senate seat but lost narrowly to Molly Cook and will not be returning to the state house.

He also primaried Jackson Lee for her seat in 2010 but lost by a wide margin.

“Just as Joe Biden passed the torch to a willing and able candidate, I stand ready to provide cohesion and strength, while fighting for the 18th District against the Republican regime,” Johnson said in a statement.

Turner, meanwhile, told KHOU on Monday that he is “seriously considering” a run, citing his longstanding friendship with Jackson Lee. Turner served as mayor from 2016 to 2024; Jackson Lee ran to succeed him but lost in the primary in December. In 2022, Turner made a surprise announcement that he had undergone treatment for bone cancer but said he had made a full recovery.

After losing her mayoral run to former state Sen. John Whitmire, Jackson Lee filed for reelection to her House seat. By then, Houston councilwoman Amanda Edwards had already become the leading candidate in the district’s primary, having bowed out of the mayoral race out of deference to Jackson Lee. The race was ultimately Jackson Lee’s most competitive race in decades, but she still defeated Edwards by 22 points.

Edwards, a former Houston City Council member, said she wasn't ready to talk about the nomination out of respect for Jackson Lee's family.

“While my interest in serving this community remains unchanged, I want to honor and respect the sensitive timing of Congresswoman Jackson Lee’s passing, and I would prefer to discuss this at a later time,” she said in a statement to the Tribune.

Plummer, who holds an at-large seat on Houston’s city council, said she was interested in a bid but would wait for legal advice on whether the city’s policy of requiring council members to resign before seeking other offices would apply to the unusual nomination process in the House race. Resigning her seat without securing the nomination would be difficult, Plummer said, but added that this race is an “opportunity that will probably never come again.”

“Sheila Jackson Lee delivered, and you have to find an advocate and also have the relationships to deliver,” Plummer said. “Whoever takes that seat has to be able to know have to drive dollars from the federal government down to the city and the county.”

Jackson Lee will lie in state in the City Hall Rotunda on Monday.

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