Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards faced off in a Houston special-election runoff for a vacant U.S. House seat — a contest that could narrow the GOP’s slim majority. The initial all-parties primary was delayed until November under a timetable set by Gov. Greg Abbott, and no candidate won a majority, forcing the runoff. The winner will serve until January 2027, and both candidates will again appear on March 3 in a Democratic primary for the newly drawn 18th District’s full term. Winter weather disrupted early voting and a civil-rights group won an extension; Saturday polls closed at 7 p.m. Central.
Houston Runoff Between Menefee and Edwards Could Narrow GOP’s Thin House Majority
FILE - Democratic 18th Congressional District candidate Christian Menefee greets voters near a polling place on Nov. 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, file)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards faced voters Saturday in a high-stakes runoff for a vacant U.S. House seat in Houston — a special election that could shave the Republican Party’s already slim majority in the House.
The top-two runoff matched Menefee, Harris County’s attorney, against Edwards, a former Houston City Council member. The winner will serve the remainder of the late Democratic representative’s term, ending when the next Congress is sworn in January 2027.
Background and timeline. According to the special-election schedule set by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, the initial all-parties primary was not held until November — six months after the incumbent’s March 2025 death — which critics called an unnecessary delay. Because no candidate cleared the 50% threshold in November, the race advanced to Saturday’s runoff between the top two vote-getters.
Abbott said the interval gave local officials time to prepare for the special election. Democrats argued the delay was politically motivated, designed to give Republicans a slightly larger margin on close House votes. Still, the 18th Congressional District is considered safely Democratic, with a majority of voters coming from minority communities.
FILE - Democratic 18th Congressional District candidate Amanda Edwards speaks during an election night watch party on Nov. 4, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, file)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
About the candidates. Menefee won his countywide office in 2020, unseating an incumbent to become Harris County’s first Black county attorney; he represents the county in civil matters and has joined legal challenges to federal immigration orders. Edwards served four years on Houston’s City Council beginning in 2016, ran for U.S. Senate in 2020 and finished fifth in a crowded primary, and mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in 2024.
After the 2024 vacancy following Jackson Lee’s death, local Democrats narrowly nominated another candidate over Edwards; that nominee later died in March 2025, triggering the special election now headed to a runoff.
In the November primary, Menefee finished ahead of Edwards. Edwards then picked up the endorsement of third-place finisher state Rep. Jolanda Jones, who said Edwards has the skills “best suited to go against Trump.” Menefee secured endorsements from several high-profile Texas Democrats, including former congressman Beto O’Rourke and Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
What’s next. The runoff winner will fill the seat only until January 2027. Both Menefee and Edwards will appear on the March 3 ballot in a separate Democratic primary for a newly drawn 18th Congressional District, where they will face Rep. Al Green for the full term that begins in 2027.
Voting disruptions. Winter weather forced local officials to cancel two days of early voting this week, prompting a civil-rights group to sue and win a two-day extension. On Saturday, polls were scheduled to stay open for 12 hours, closing at 7 p.m. Central.
Why it matters: Even though the 18th District is safely Democratic, the outcome briefly affects the balance of power in an evenly divided U.S. House and serves as a preview of the March primary battles under newly drawn Texas maps.
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