Ballot replacement for Sheila Jackson Lee to be chosen by Democratic precinct chairs

This article first appeared on Houston Landing and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

The residents of Houston’s Congressional District 18 have been represented by U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee for 30 years.

Following her death Friday at the age of 74, pieces are quickly falling in place for a small group of Harris County Democratic Party leaders to select a new nominee for the November general election. The chosen candidate is expected to be the clear frontrunner in the heavily Democratic district against Republican Lana Centonze.

Jackson Lee handily won the March Democratic primary to secure her nomination for reelection over her former intern and former Houston city council member Amanda Edwards. Because there is no time to hold a new election before November, 88 party precinct chairs from Congressional District 18 will vote for a new nominee in mid-August, Harris County Democratic Party Chair Mike Doyle said.

The process for Democrats to select Jackson Lee’s replacement is laid out in Texas election law, Texas Southern University political science Professor Michael Adams said.

“You put it in the hands of the precinct judges, and they’re supposed to be representing the interests of the people in their precinct,” Adams said.

The meeting likely will take place Aug. 15 or 17, Doyle said. The deadline for the Democrats to select a new nominee and transmit their choice to the Texas Secretary of State’s office is Aug. 26, according to Texas law.

Harris County is heavily Democratic, making the act of precinct chairs essentially coronating a successor not uncommon. Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis, state Sen. Borris Miles and state Rep. Shawn Thierry were all nominated by precinct chairs in recent years.

Candidates will have an opportunity to make their case for the nomination to the precinct chairs during an Aug. 10 forum, Doyle said.

Speculation has been swirling around a number of prominent local Democrats who may seek the nomination.

RELATED: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, longtime champion of women’s rights, racial equality dies at 74

Former Houston Mayor Sylvester said Tuesday he was considering coming out of retirement to run for the seat. Turner said he is waiting for funeral arrangements for the veteran congresswoman to be made before he makes a final decision.

Turner said the only thing that would pull him out of retirement is “the passing of the congresswoman during this critical time in the election cycle.”

“You don’t want to lose a lot from the congresswoman not being there,” Turner said. “It's not about replacing her. It's about continuing the work she did for the people of Congressional District 18.”

Because candidates only have to sway a majority of the 88 precinct chairs to their side to win the election, Turner’s status as a popular local Democrat would make him a formidable challenge for any other candidate to overcome. He was a state legislator for 26 years — representing a district partially contained within CD-18 — before serving two terms as Houston mayor from 2016 through the end of last year.

“Generally, the candidate who will be the ultimate favorite will be someone who is well known among those precinct chairs,” Adams said.

House District 139 State Rep. Jarvis Johnson announced Tuesday he would seek the nomination. Johnson recently lost a May runoff election for state Senate District 15 against emergency room nurse Molly Cook.

Johnson, 52, promised to be a bridge from Jackson Lee to a younger generation and provide cohesion and strength as the district’s representative.

Former Houston City Councilmember Dwight Boykins and Bishop James Dixon, both longtime friends of Jackson Lee, each told the Houston Chronicle Tuesday they were considering a run for the seat.

Melanie Miles, one of the precinct chairs who will vote on Jackson Lee’s ballot replacement, said Tuesday that she had not yet been contacted by anyone seeking the nomination.

Miles said she was humbled by the responsibility her role as precinct chair has brought her as the district grapples with important environmental, infrastructure and transportation issues. She said her ideal candidate is someone who can match Jackson Lee’s ability to be a constant presence in both the district and Capitol Hill.

“It’s really kind of scary because it’s so important that we get this right,” Miles said. “It’s a lot of influence, but also, we’ve got the whole district looking at us and depending on us to make the right decision. It can’t be a popularity contest, it needs to be the right person.”

As the process plays out to select a Democratic nominee for the term beginning in 2025, Congressional District 18 is now vacant. Under state law, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has the option to call a special election to fill the remaining months of Jackson Lee’s term.

There is no deadline for Abbott to call for a special election, but it must be held within two months of him making the announcement.

With a narrow Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, politics could impact the governor’s decision making, Adams said. Any vacant Democratic seat will make it a little easier for the Republican majority in the House to pass any bills, Adams said.

Regardless of Abbott’s decision, constituent services in the district will not be impacted by Jackson Lee’s death, her office said this week.

Jackson Lee’s Congressional staff wrote in a letter Monday that it would continue to operate the office’s constituent services as Houston recovers from Hurricane Beryl’s impact earlier this month and enters the heart of hurricane season.

The staff also promised to work with other congressional offices to carry out Jackson Lee’s final priorities: the establishment of an Emancipation National Historic Trail from Galveston to Houston and the creation of a Juneteenth commission to study the impact of slavery on their descendants.

This article first appeared on Houston Landing and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.