Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner won a nail-biter runoff Tuesday to become the Democratic nominee for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, a seat vacated by the late Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, the Texas Tribune reports.
There was too little time for another primary so the nomination was decided by a committee of 88 Democratic party officials. Turner came in first with 35 votes and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards came in a close second with 34 votes. Since neither candidate secured a majority of the votes they had to compete in a runoff, which immediately followed the first round of voting.
Turner again came out on top with 41 votes while Edwards received 37. He will campaign against Lana Centonze, the Republican nominee, and is favored to win the heavily Democratic district. He was a close ally of Rep. Jackson Lee and he received a key endorsement from the late congresswoman’s daughter Erica Lee Carter.
“It’s so important to have someone ready to take on what my mother was trying to carry,” Carter told the Houston Press. “She loved him like a brother but worked with him like a fighter, and there’s no one else you want in the fight to have your back like Sylvester Turner.”
Lee Carter also wants to carry the mantle of her mother’s legacy, announcing earlier this week that she intended to run to complete the remainder of her mother’s term which ends on January 3, 2025 reports CBS News.
In a press release posted on X, Lee Carter wrote “The people of the 18th Congressional District re-elected my mother to the 118th Congress to protect their interests and uphold our democratic values,” she continued “Congresswoman Jackson Lee kept their interests in her heart and mind until the very end.”
Those interests were reflected in the legislation Jackson Lee supported. She was a staunch advocate for racial justice and championed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
In response to a tragic mass shooting, she introduced the Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act, which proposed licensing all firearms, universal background checks for gun purchases, and a ban on the sale of ammunition larger than .50 caliber. The bill was named in honor of a 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student who was one of ten people killed in the 2018 Santa Fe High School mass shooting.
Jackson Lee also voted for President Biden’s priorities like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the largest infrastructure legislation in a generation and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. That bill lowers prescription drug prices, spurs investment in clean energy and strengthens the IRS to ensure the “wealthy and large corporations pay the taxes they legally owe.”
According to the Houston Press, Turner wants to build on that legacy saying he hoped to continue working on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, provide affordable healthcare to those who need it, bring economic opportunity and community revitalization to the district, to name a few priorities.
And in a nod to Lee Carter, he said he’d be honored to run the race alongside “the congresswoman”
Lee Carter is new to politics and the encouragement she received from the community after her mother’s passing inspired her to run. “Many community leaders and democratic stalwarts have requested that I consider completing her term this year by running in the November 5th Special Election. After careful consideration, the answer is YES,” she posted on X.
The special election to fill Jackson Lee’s seat will be held on November 5th, the same day as the general election when voters choose who will serve in Congress next term. Candidates interested in getting their names on the special election ballot have until August 22nd to file.
If Lee Carter wins the special election, she will serve as congresswoman for just under 2 months before her successor takes over.
Referring to her mom as “the ultimate finisher,” Lee Carter said that if chosen to represent the 18th congressional district it would be her desire to finish the 118th session as Jackson Lee “would have by supporting justice, equality, health care, human rights and economic opportunity for all.” said
She continued, “Together, we will finish for my mom, the honorable Sheila Jackson Lee.”
Turner for his part vowed to serve a maximum of two terms if elected and said he wanted to prepare younger generations to lead the district. In the meantime, he knows he has big shoes to fill.
“I can’t replace the congresswoman, but I think I can make one hell of a difference in the lives of those who need us,” he declared.