The special election to fill the Congressional seat left vacant by Sylvester Turner’s death will be held on Nov. 4, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday.
Abbott’s proclamation settles weeks of speculation about the timing of the Congressional District 18 election and concerns from Houston Democrats that Abbott was intentionally leaving the seat vacant to advantage Congressional Republicans. Abbott used his proclamation to continue longstanding Republican criticism of elections administration in Harris County, arguing that was why he delayed calling for the special election.
Even without the clarity on the election’s date, a handful of local politicians already had declared their interest in running or launched fully-fledged campaigns, including Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former At-Large Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards.
The official candidate filing deadline to run in the special election is Sept. 3, according to Abbott’s proclamation.
Several of the candidates that have already announced their campaigns criticized Abbott last week for delaying his order to hold the election. Congressional Democratic leadership in Washington joined in on the criticism, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Texas Democratic Party both threatening lawsuits against the governor if he further delayed the call.
The Texas Constitution gives Abbott the sole authority to call for a special election in the event of a vacancy. The only restriction is that the special election must be held on a uniform election date at least 46 days after Abbott’s call.
There is a uniform election date fast approaching on May 3, but the deadline for Abbott to have called for the election on that date already passed in late March. Turner died March 5.
With the election now set for November, it will not be until the end of 2025 before Turner’s replacement is seated in Congress. A crowded field of candidates is expected. If no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held in December, leaving the district without representation for more than 250 days.
“It is unconscionable to leave nearly 800,000 people in this district without representation in Congress for most of the year,” Menefee wrote in a statement responding to Abbott’s proclamation Monday. “We’ll go through hurricane season, budget battles, and attacks on Social Security and Medicaid with no one at the table fighting for us. Governor Abbott knows how to move quickly – he’s done it for other districts. He just chose not to for us.”
The partisan split in the House is narrow, fueling speculation that Abbott was delaying the election in the heavily Democratic district to advantage House Republicans seeking to pass President Donald Trump’s legislative priorities.
In an interview last Thursday with KXAN in Austin, Abbott blamed his decision to delay on past issues with elections administration in Harris County, an argument that Menefee called “nonsense.”
The county faced fierce criticism from Texas Republicans in 2022 after 20 out of around 800 polling locations ran out of paper. The Texas Legislature went on to abolish the county’s elections administrator position and multiple lawsuits were filed by losing GOP candidates.
Abbott told KXAN that calling for a May special election could have “led to a failure in that election” similar to that in 2022.
In a statement Monday about his proclamation setting the special election date, Abbott doubled down on his criticism of elections administration in Harris County.
“No county in Texas does a worse job of conducting elections than Harris County,” Abbott wrote. “Forcing Harris County to rush this special election on weeks’ notice would harm the interests of voters. The appropriate time to hold this election is November, which will give Harris County sufficient time to prepare for such an important election.”
In the years since the responsibility for Harris County’s elections was returned to the county clerk’s office, local elections have run smoothly in Texas’ most populous county, earning County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth praise from some local Republicans.
“Since the Texas Legislature returned the election administration duties to the Harris County Clerk’s office … my office has successfully conducted eight elections — including the 2024 joint primary election — in collaboration with key stakeholders such as the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, the Harris County Republican and Democratic parties, Commissioners court, and others,” Hudspeth wrote in a statement Friday. “We remain fully prepared to conduct the Congressional District 18 election as soon as the governor issues the order.”
Edwards also criticized Abbott for the delay on Monday, noting the county’s recent streak of successes with administering elections.
“I am very happy that the residents of the 18th Congressional District will now have the opportunity to have voting representation in Congress,” Edwards said. “The needs of the community are of paramount importance, and I believe that’s where our attention should be focused.”
Candidate Isaiah Martin, a former advisor to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee prior to her death in 2024, said Abbott was caving to the whims of Trump and House Republicans by holding the election in November.
“Having almost a year without representation in the heart of Houston is an affront to the constitution and our city, and further signifies a Republican Party scared of the people,” Martin wrote in a statement.
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