Executive Summary
- Governor Greg Abbott has set January 31 as the special election runoff date for Texas’ 18th Congressional District.
- The race is between Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards, who were the top two finishers in the November 4 election but failed to secure a majority.
- The winner will serve out the term of the late Rep. Sylvester Turner and will quickly face a competitive March 3 primary in a newly redrawn district against incumbent Rep. Al Green.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has scheduled a special election runoff for January 31 to fill the vacant U.S. House seat for the 18th Congressional District. The Houston-area race will be between the top two finishers from the November special election, Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards. The winner will serve the remainder of the term for the late Representative Sylvester Turner.
In the November 4 special election, neither candidate in the 16-person field secured the necessary 50% of the vote to win outright. Menefee, the Harris County Attorney, finished first with 28.9% of the vote, while Edwards, a former Houston City Councilmember, received 25.6%. Early voting for the runoff is scheduled to begin on January 21.
The congressional seat has been vacant since March, when Rep. Turner died just two months after taking office. Turner himself had won the seat following the death of longtime congresswoman Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in 2024. By the time the runoff occurs, the district will have been without representation for approximately 11 months.
The winner of the January runoff will face immediate political challenges. The March 3 primary, which will effectively determine the representative for the term beginning in 2027, is just weeks later. Furthermore, the district has been significantly redrawn, and veteran Democratic Rep. Al Green has already filed to run in the newly configured 18th district, setting up a primary contest against a well-known incumbent.
Menefee has confirmed his intention to run in the March primary, while Edwards has not yet announced her plans. The filing deadline for the primary is December 8, well before the special runoff election will take place, forcing candidates to commit to the next race before the current one is decided.