AUSTIN, Texas — The race to fill a Texas congressional seat has candidates but no election date more than three weeks after left a vacancy in a stronghold for Democrats, who are eager to cut into Republicans’
Turner, a former Houston mayor, died March 5 just weeks into his first term in Congress. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has the sole authority to call a special election but has not said when he might do so, drawing criticism from some Democrats who have accused him of trying to help protect the GOP’s margins.
The seat is one of four vacancies in Congress, including two in Florida, where will choose successors in special elections for a pair of GOP-held districts. Republicans currently hold 218 seats, while Democrats hold 213 seats.
“An announcement on a special election will be made at a later date,” Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said in an email, in response to whether the House majority is factoring into the governor’s decision-making.
Texas holds dates for local, state and special elections twice a year in May and November.
In 2021, Abbott called for a special election two weeks after Republican became the first member of Congress to die after contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic. Last year, Abbott called a special election for the vacant seat of about two weeks after her death in July.
“This is very clearly playing political games. They know the U.S. majority in the House is on razor-thin margins,” said Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, leader of the state House Democratic Caucus.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he was to the United Nations over concerns that it could threaten Republicans’ tight majority in the House, posting on his Truth Social platform that it was “essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress.”
His announcement reflects a growing concern among House Republicans who are fearful that the margins of their five-seat majority will tighten. Losing a few seats could jeopardize their control of the chamber and ability to carry out Trump’s sweeping agenda.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards are two of the top candidates vying for the Texas seat. Menefee quickly acquired endorsements from former Democratic Reps. Colin Allred and Beto O’Rourke. Edwards, an attorney, ran for the sweat twice last year.
In Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs called for a special election days after died on March 13.
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Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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