To fill U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s seat Gov. Greg Abbott sets special election

A special election was scheduled for November 5, the same day as the general election, by Governor Greg Abbott on Friday to fill the seat vacated by former U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee for the balance of her term. For the final two months of the current Congress, a representative for Texas’ 18th Congressional District will be chosen in a special election.

The district’s representative for the entire two-year term starting in 2025 will be chosen in the general election, on the other hand. Both will be decided simultaneously by voters in the Houston area.

On October 21, early voting for the general election and the special election will start concurrently. After battling pancreatic cancer, Jackson Lee passed away on July 19. Her age was 74. Renowned as a steadfast progressive, the Houston Democrat was among the longest-serving members of the Texas congressional delegation.

Democrats need to choose a new candidate for the general election ballot because Jackson Lee emerged victorious in the Democratic primary held in March. The new nominee will be chosen on August 13 by the 88 Democratic precinct chairs in Jackson Lee’s district.

August 1, 2024, at a memorial service for Sheila Jackson Lee at Fallbrook Church in Houston, is when U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks.

State Representative Jarvis Johnson, D-Houston, former member of the Houston City Council Amanda Edwards, Letitia Plummer, and former mayor Sylvester Turner are among the contenders for the full-term nomination.

Except for the full-term nominee that Democrats choose in August and Republican candidate Lana Centonze, any eligible Texan may file with the Secretary of State by August 22 to have their name appear on the special election ballot. There cannot be two entries for such candidates on the same ballot.

“An attempt to confuse and create havoc in voting in November,” is how Harris County Democrats head Mike Doyle described the special election.

Doyle claimed Abbott was under no obligation to call a special election to fill the seat for a period of two months, and that by doing so, voters will be presented with two ballots for the same post. “This is simply game play; it’s not more or less,” he declared.