By Terrance Turner
Forward Times
Reprinted – by Texas Metro News
Despite the endless disappointments for Democrats nationwide from the 2024 election, Harris County Democrats eked out some narrow wins. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and Harris County District Attorney candidate Sean Teare both prevailed in tight races against their GOP opponents, while former Houston mayor Sylvester Turner won his bid for the seat once held by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
As many Houstonians know, Jackson Lee lost her battle with pancreatic cancer in July. Her passing presented a complicated reality for voters she represented in the 18th Congressional District (including downtown, EaDo, Third & Fifth Wards, and parts of Acres Homes). It required two separate elections: a special election to determine who would serve out the remainder of Jackson Lee’s term from November through January, and one standard contest to find a successor for a new, two-year term beginning Jan. 3. Sheila Jackson Lee’s daughter, Erica Lee Carter, won the special election Nov. 5.
“I am humbled by the trust the voters of Texas’ 18th Congressional District have placed in me to represent them in Congress,” Carter expressed. “I am deeply honored to follow in the footsteps of my mother, Sheila Jackson Lee, whose dedication to our community has shaped the path I now walk.”
Meanwhile, Turner won the race to serve out a two-year term after garnering roughly 70% of the vote (versus Republican candidate Lana Centonze’s 30%). This comes after a whirlwind 83-day campaign and an endorsement by Jackson Lee’s children, Jason Lee and Erica Lee Carter. “While no one will ever replace Cong. Sheila Jackson Lee, there must be a successor. Our greatest hope is that her immediate successor has the capacity and the commitment to sustain the service upon which the constituents of the 18th District have come to rely. For that reason, we are proud to endorse Sylvester Turner,” they said in a statement.
“I look forward to representing people in the 18th District,” Turner shared. For Turner, who came out of retirement for this election, his victory contains a sad irony: had Jackson Lee won her mayoral bid earlier this year, she would’ve succeeded Turner in that role. Now he’s succeeding her.
