Democrats have selected former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) to serve as the party’s nominee in the November election to succeed the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas).
Turner prevailed at a local party meeting of precinct chairs that chose the candidate who will be nominated to represent Texas’ 18th Congressional District. Jackson Lee had already won the Democratic nomination for another term in his House seat before he died last month at age 74. She had pancreatic cancer.
Turner won the nomination by a tight 41-37 vote in the runoff against Amanda Edwards, a former Houston City Council member who unsuccessfully challenged Jackson Lee in her primary earlier this year.
Turner previously served in the Texas State House before serving as mayor of Houston for eight years, stepping down earlier this year upon completing his second term. He had the support of Jackson Lee’s children, Jason Lee and Erica Lee Carter, to succeed his mother in the role, saying that she had “no better partner” than him while in office.
He supported Jackson Lee during her run to succeed him as mayor of Houston in 2023, but she lost in the runoff to then-State Senator John Whitmire (D).
Turner will be the clear favorite to win the November seat in the solid blue district. He will face Republican Lana Centonze in the general election.
Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) set a special election to fill the remainder of Jackson Lee’s term on the same day as the general election. Lee Carter, daughter of Jackson Lee, is running in special election to serve the remainder of the term.
Turner is not expected to run in the special election, The Washington Post reported. Candidates have one more week to register for the elections.
The Associated Press contributed.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
