Dem
47
GOP
53
Former representative Sylvester Turner (D-TX) died on March 5, 2025. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), no stranger to playing politics, kept the seat open until Election Day this year. After all, the TX-18 district is poor, with a median household income of $67,000 and full of people of color, with 42% Latino and 32% Black. Surely these people have better things to worry about than whether they have representation in the House, right? It is very gerrymandered, covering parts of Houston, and is D+21:
No one won the special election with more than 50% of the vote, so Abbott grudgingly had to schedule a runoff. He decided that Jan. 31, 2026, would be a nice date. After vote counting and certification, the people of TX-18 will have representation again, after 11 months of not having it.
The runoff candidates are both Democrats. One is Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee. The other is Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards. They were the top finishers in the November nonpartisan election that featured two dozen candidates. Menefee got 29% of the vote and Edwards got 26%. The winner will serve from mid-February 2026 until Jan. 3, 2027, but will have to start running for reelection almost immediately. However, the redistricting, if it sticks, will pit the winner against Rep. Al Green (D-TX). The filing deadline is Dec. 8, but the question of which map will be used is currently tied up in the courts after a judge ruled that the new map is an illegal racial gerrymander. (V)