HOUSTON — Texas state lawmakers and national Democratic leaders are calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to immediately schedule a special election to fill the congressional seat in the 18th District, which has been vacant since Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death on March 5.
Nearly a month after Turner’s passing, Abbott has taken no action to schedule an election. The governor has sole authority to call an election under the U.S. Constitution and state law.
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“All Texans deserve representation. Let the people vote!” declared the group of state senators and representatives whose districts overlap with CD18: Senator Borris Miles, Senator Molly Cook, Rep. Christina Morales, Rep. Jolanda Jones, Rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons and Rep. Charlene Ward Johnson.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has accused Abbott of deliberately delaying the vote to help Republicans maintain their slim majority in the House of Representatives, where Republicans currently hold 218 seats compared to Democrats’ 213, with four vacancies. According to Jeffries, this majority would enable the passage of a budget approved by President Donald Trump. Jeffries has threatened to sue.
Sen. Borris Miles noted this is not the first time CD18 residents have lacked representation recently.
“The citizens of Congressional District 18 have a right to be represented. They deserve nothing less,” Miles said in a press release. “Due to the tragic and unforeseen deaths of two representatives, these constituents have now been without a voice in Congress for a big part of the past year with no representation in sight.”
The district, which encompasses parts of urban Houston and Harris County, is considered a Democratic stronghold, having voted for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris by 69% in the 2024 general election.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, one of the candidates vying for the seat, is urging the governor to set a special election for June and has threatened legal action, stating he will sue if a vote doesn’t take place by November. Former City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards has also announced her candidacy.
Several House members voiced strong criticism of the governor’s inaction. Rep. Christina Morales noted the district is home to approximately 800,000 Texans who currently lack federal representation.
“It is more than a vote for or against legislation. It’s constituent service work that those Texans need to navigate their federal government,” Morales said, adding that Abbott is “just another Republican afraid to choose his Texas constituents over Donald Trump and Elon Musk.”
Rep. Jolanda Jones invoked the legacy of Barbara Jordan, the first Black woman elected to Congress from the South, who once represented the historic 18th Congressional District.
“Barbara Jordan must be spinning in her grave,” Jones said. Jones is considering running in the 18th District.
Texas law gives the governor sole authority to call a special election. Abbott may set a November election or schedule an emergency election but has thus far taken no action. Requests for comment to Abbott’s office were not immediately returned.