Key Point: A Texas special election that filled the longtime vacancy created by the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner installed Democrat Christian Menefee, reducing Republicans’ working edge in the House. A string of departures — including the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa — already left the GOP with a narrow margin. With Menefee sworn in, even a single defection or a few absences could stall Republican priorities and complicate Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership.
House GOP Majority Shrinks Again After Texas Special Election, Heightening Pressure On Speaker Mike Johnson
A sequence of departures and a long-unfilled vacancy have left House Republicans with a perilously thin working majority after a Texas special election installed a Democrat in Congress.
Background: A month into 2026 the House Republican Conference counted 220 members. That figure dipped to 219 after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) resigned shortly after becoming eligible for a congressional pension, and then to 218 when Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) died unexpectedly.
On Saturday the margin narrowed further when Democrat Christian Menefee won the special election to fill the seat left vacant by the late Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Tex.), who died in March 2025. Menefee, Harris County’s attorney and a former candidate in Houston politics, defeated Amanda Edwards in a runoff and will restore a long-empty Democratic seat on Capitol Hill.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a news conference following a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 13, 2026.(Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)
Why This Matters
Menefee’s victory matters not because it flipped a Republican seat but because it filled a Democratic vacancy that had temporarily widened Republicans’ working edge. With that vacancy now filled, House GOP leaders face a much slimmer margin on key votes — a dynamic that could allow a single defection or a few absences to derail legislation.
Practical arithmetic: In the current alignment, even a single Republican breaking with the party or missing a vote can make previously safe margins precarious. Two defections or absences can create a 216–216 tie, and in the House a tie vote results in failure.
Political Consequences
Republican leaders also remain vulnerable to the timing of special elections that will fill the seats vacated by Greene and LaMalfa; those contests are still months away. Meanwhile, reports that other House Republicans — including Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) — are weighing early departures would further strain an already fragile legislative agenda.
For Speaker Mike Johnson and House GOP leadership, 2025 was a difficult year. Menefee’s win adds fresh reasons to believe 2026 may be even more challenging.
Note: This article updates earlier related coverage.
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