Edwards And Menefee District 18 Runoff Set for January 31

Former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards and Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee won’t get a holiday break from the campaign trail.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that a runoff election to fill the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s unexpired term in Congressional District 18 will be held on January 31.

Menefee earned 21,979 votes, or 28.89 percent, in the November 4 election, and Edwards got 19,440 votes, or 25.55 percent. In order to win outright, one candidate must get more than 50 percent of the vote. In a crowded race with 16 candidates, a runoff was expected.

Both top vote-getters are Black attorneys who ran as Democrats. Both have speculated that Abbott wasn’t in a hurry to fill the District 18 seat because it would add a blue vote in Congress, and President Donald Trump has been desperately trying to maintain his Republican majority.

Immediately after the November 4 election, both candidates urged Abbott to call the runoff promptly to avoid voter confusion and further delay.

“For far too long, the people of Texas’ 18th Congressional District have paid taxes, faced rising costs and watched Congress make critical decisions, all without anyone fighting for them in Washington,” Edwards said in a November 10 statement. “That’s unacceptable. I’m calling on the governor to stop playing political games with this seat and to finally place people over politics by scheduling this special election runoff.”

Despite the Republican-led redistricting effort that was approved by the Texas Legislature over the summer, voters who cast ballots in the 2024 Congressional District 18 Race when Turner was elected were able to do so in the November 4 election and can also vote in the runoff.

“This district is known for having a powerful voice, and right now that voice matters more than ever,” Menefee said recently when asked about the confusion among CD 18 residents. “Republican leaders are doing everything they can to dilute the voting power of the people, from changing maps to making it more confusing to vote, all in an effort to silence our communities.”

“But every single vote cast in this election pushes back against that,” he added. “Every single vote says we’re still here, we’re still fighting, and we’re ready to stand up for democracy.”