Voters on Saturday will choose certainly one of two Democrats in a runoff election to fill a vacant US House seat, additional narrowing Speaker Mike Johnson’s already razor-thin Republican majority.
Texas’ 18th Congressional District has been empty since March following former Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death — and 13 of the final 18 months in whole. It will quickly be stuffed by certainly one of two Democrats who advancing to Saturday’s runoff election: former Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee or former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards.
The present partisan breakdown within the chamber is 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats, following the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa. Johnson will have the ability to lose just one Republican on any party-line vote as soon as both Menefee or Edwards is sworn in.
The first spherical of the special election to switch Greene takes place in March with a possible runoff to observe in April. There’s additionally an April special election for the New Jersey seat vacated by Democrat Mikie Sherrill after she was elected governor.
A brand new consultant in Texas’ storied 18th is a short respite from a saga that started when longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee died in workplace in July 2024. Turner, who was elected to serve the following full time period within the district, additionally died in workplace simply over two months into serving within the House. The seat has been vacant since then.
Redistricting has additionally jumbled Saturday’s runoff election, which will occur beneath previous district strains, within the minds of voters.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and state Republicans final yr kicked off what ended up being the primary domino of a nationwide mid-decade redistricting effort.
Abbott signed into regulation a brand new map that aimed to provide the GOP at the least 5 more House seats in 2026. The 18th District was made even more Democratic and absorbed a lot of the present ninth District, which turned Republican-leaning.
A federal courtroom then blocked Texas from utilizing its new map within the 2026 midterms, ruling that it’s probably an unconstitutional gerrymander, however the US Supreme Court overruled that decision, leaving the map in place for 2026.
A major election for a full two-year time period beginning in 2027, beneath new district strains, is slated for March 3. Both Menefee and Edwards confirmed to NCS that they will be working in that major no matter Saturday’s outcomes.
In an announcement to NCS final week, Menefee mentioned that though he’s “fully committed” to March’s major, he’s targeted on “running through the tape” on Saturday.
“Because of the way President Trump and Governor Abbott pushed through these new congressional maps, we’re in a rare situation where campaigning for the special election and the March primary is taking place all at once,” Menefee mentioned.
“We have really focused our attention, not in trying to run a double race in terms of the messaging, but instead one race at a time from a messaging standpoint,” Edwards mentioned in an interview with NCS, emphasizing that redistricting and the overlapping runoff and first have been factors of confusion for voters.
They’ll face a tricky problem from longtime Rep. Al Green, who was first elected to Congress in 2004 and served alongside Jackson Lee. Green’s residence has been positioned beneath the brand new map into the 18th District as a substitute of his present ninth District — and he has vowed to run within the new 18th.