Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards advanced to a runoff in a special congressional election in Texas, NBC News projects, as a crowded field vied to fill the late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s deep-blue seat.
The race saw 16 candidates, including seven Democrats, five Republicans, three independents and one Green Party member, face off in a heavily Democratic district that includes downtown Houston and parts of surrounding Harris County.
Menefee is the county attorney for Harris County, becoming the first Black person to hold that office after unseating three-term incumbent Vince Ryan. Edwards is an attorney and nonprofit founder who served on the Houston City Council for four years.
There was no primary election to determine each party’s top picks: Instead, every candidate appeared on the same ballot, with the two candidates with the most votes advancing to a runoff if no one got a majority.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to set a date for the runoff election, which is expected to take place in January.
The 18th District has had a Black representative for more than 50 years, starting with Barbara Jordan in 1973, largely as a result of the Voting Rights Act and 1972 redistricting that empowered Black voters.
Turner, the former Houston mayor who died in March, two months after being elected to represent the district, won the seat in November by more than 20 points. The late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, also a Democrat, held the seat for almost ten years until her death in July 2024, after winning her party’s primary for reelection.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., threatened in April to sue Abbott for delaying Tuesday’s election. Five days later, Abbott set a date. The seat has been vacant for eight months, and the runoff winner will serve the remainder of Turner’s term, ending in January 2027.
