Democrats regained a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives Saturday after winning a special election in Texas. Although the outcome of the election was not surprising, its impact is significant for a closely divided House. It also sets up an upcoming showdown between Democrats as redistricting narrows the space for the party in Texas, which may have larger implications for determining control of the U.S. House in November.
Menefee wins, continuing the tradition of Black Democrats representing Texas’ 18th District
Attorney Christian Menefee defeated former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, a fellow Democrat, in a special election runoff Saturday to represent the Texas 18th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Saturday’s vote was a race between two Black Democrats for a congressional seat that has long been held by Black politicians, including Barbara Jordan and Sheila Jackson Lee. Most recently, the Houston-area seat was briefly held by former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who died in office in March. Menefee and Edwards were the top two vote-getters out of more than a dozen candidates who ran in an all-party election in November; no candidate received a majority of the votes in that first round, triggering Saturday’s runoff. Menefee attended services Sunday at his home church, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, where Pastor Marcus Cosby blessed and congratulated him.
Long-delayed election slims Republicans’ thin House majority
The victory for Menefee in the Houston-representing district was unsurprising, unlike the upset state senate win for Democrat Taylor Rehmet in a heavily red Fort Worth-area district. But the impact and timing of the election were notable. After Turner’s death in March, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott left the seat open for months by scheduling a special election in November. Although the delay was allowed by Texas law, Democrats criticized Abbott for leaving the district without a representative in order to protect Republicans’ narrow majority in the U.S. House. That majority will drop to 218–214 once Menefee is sworn in, giving Republican Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana a margin of only one Republican defection in order to pass legislation when Democrats remain present and united on the House floor; upcoming special elections in California, Georgia, and New Jersey may shift the House balance.
Victory sets up competition between Democrats after Republican gerrymandering
Just as Menefee has defeated a fellow Democrat to win the seat to represent the 18th District, he will have to almost immediately defeat her again to keep it. Menefee and Edwards are set to compete against each other in March’s Democratic primary. That race will also include a formidable opponent: Congressman Al Green, a vocal opponent of President Trump who currently represents the Texas 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House. Republican-led redistricting in Texas has pushed Green into the 18th District. The redrawn Texas maps have forced other Democrats to compete against one another, drop out, or seek different offices; for instance, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett avoided potential showdowns with other Democratic incumbents in the House by instead launching a bid for the U.S. Senate to displace longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
For now, it seems that Menefee will face this type of challenge, having to take on Green while also engaged in a rematch with Edwards in order to retain his newly won seat. Whichever Democrat ends up winning March’s primary, the party will look to not only retain safely blue seats like the 18th District of Texas but also win additional seats as it has a strong chance of retaking the House.
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