Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee served Texas’ 18th congressional district from 1995 until her death on Friday. The district contains portions of central Houston and northern Harris County, where Jackson Lee often attended community meetings, rallies and other events.
Lee was expected to win another term this November. Now, however, her death has left some questions about who will take her place.
Taylor Goldenstein, state bureau reporter with the Houston Chronicle, joined Texas Standard with more about what happens next.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Well, we already passed the primary, which Jackson Lee won by over 20 points. What’s the process now for picking a candidate for this November’s election?
Taylor Goldenstein: Right. So we’re in kind of a strange situation, but there is a process under state law. The Harris County Democratic Party’s executive committee now have until August 26, and they will now have the responsibility of nominating a candidate to run in the general.
And what about the remainder of this term? Is there time to get another Democrat in Jackson Lee’s House seat?
That question is a little bit more up in the air because it all kind of falls on Gov. Greg Abbott. So he has the authority to call a special election to fill that remainder of her term, which is up in January. But it’s kind of up to him when; the Constitution says that he has to call one, but it doesn’t really set out any kind of deadline for him.
In 2021, that was probably the last time that might be somewhat comparable, Rep. Ron Wright of North Texas, a Republican, died of COVID-19, and Abbott called a special within about a month, and the actual election was held about two months later in conjunction with already planned local elections in May.
But Gov. Abbott could call the special to coincide with the general. So that would mean that voters in the Houston area within her district would be voting not just on who will hold that seat for the next full term, but also for the remaining months on her term. But it’s really kind of up to him.
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Would you have any insights into who might be interested in seeking this seat or running for the Democratic nomination? Might we see the same people who Jackson Lee faced in the primary process, or are there others who might come forward?
Well, we know that there’s a lot of interest from candidates in that area; the mayoral race that she ran in and lost before going back to run for reelection was a 16-candidate race. So there’s definitely a lot of interest in the area.
You know, some names I’ve heard floated, Jarvis Johnson, who ran unsuccessfully for a Senate seat; Amanda Edwards, who was her opponent in the congressional race, former city council member, is a strong possibility. And then just some other local, prominent Houston Democrats, I would expect might be interested as well.
Well, beyond her work in Congress, Jackson Lee was really known for her presence and activism in the community. Do any of these potential candidates really begin to fill her shoes in that regard?
I think that would be really difficult to match just given, you know, her 30-year tenure. Some of these candidates, including Amanda Edwards, are a lot younger, but they do have political experience – like I said, Amanda Edwards, that city council experience. And Jarvis Johnson has the state House experience.
So there will be candidates who can lean back on previous political records, just maybe not a legendary 30-year career like Jackson Lee could.
