Here are the Democrats seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

"Here are the Democrats seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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WASHINGTON — The person who is likely to take U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s seat in Congress will effectively be selected by 88 Harris County Democratic precinct chairs next week.

Jackson Lee died July 19 after having won in this year’s Democratic primary. An executive committee of precinct chairs in the 18th Congressional District will select a new candidate who will appear on the November 5 ballot against Republican Lana Centonze. But because the district is solidly blue, it is likely that the Democratic candidate will win.

Since the candidate selection is internal within the party, there is no formal filing process for candidates and precinct chairs could theoretically choose anyone. Of the 15 Democrats who have been in touch with the county party, five run with extensive elected experience: former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards — who faced off against Jackson Lee in the primary, state Rep. Jarvis Johnson, state Rep. Christina Morales and Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer. Former Houston City Council Member Dwight Boykins, who put his name in the ring on Friday, said Monday that he dropped out of the race after Jackson Lee’s family endorsed Turner.

The election is separate from the special election on the same day for a representative to serve out the rest of Jackson Lee’s current term, which ends on Jan. 3, 2025. Candidates have until Aug. 22 to run in the special election.

The leading Democrats seeking the party’s nomination have resumes steeped in Houston politics and largely aligned on policy. Each will be able to share their pitches during a public forum on Saturday.

The precinct chairs will meet to select the Democratic nominee to replace Jackson Lee on Aug. 13.

Sylvester Turner

The most experienced candidate, Turner served as mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024 after serving in the Texas House since 1989. But perhaps his biggest asset is his strong relationship with Jackson Lee, reflected in the endorsement of Jackson Lee’s children, Jason Lee and Erica Lee Carter.

“We have no doubt Mayor Turner will carry on our mother’s legacy of service because we’ve witnessed it almost our entire lives,” Jackson Lee’s children said in a statement Monday. “Our mother had no greater partner than Mayor Turner and he honors her with his willingness to dutifully and humbly serve as a sturdy bridge to the next generation of leadership for the historic 18th Congressional District of Texas.”

Turner endorsed Jackson Lee in her own run for mayor last year. Turner, who was term-limited out of office, had largely refrained from commenting on his succession until Jackson Lee entered a runoff against state Sen. John Whitmire. Whitmire ended up winning the race.

In his bid to succeed Jackson Lee, Turner is highlighting his relationship with her, promising to continue fighting for some of her biggest priorities, including securing federal funds for Houston. Jackson Lee brought in millions of federal dollars throughout her time in Congress for Houston flood control, health care and public safety. Turner also supports legislation to protect women from domestic violence, codify access to abortion federally, protect LGBTQ rights and enhance transparency in policing.

But Turner, who opted not to challenge his old friend in the Democratic primary, is also the oldest major candidate at 69 years old and said he would serve a maximum of two terms if elected — a fact others seeking the nomination said would limit his ability to build seniority in the hierarchical Congress.

“It is time for people like Sylvester Turner to pass the baton and counsel the next generation of leaders to be able to to lead this district forward,” said Johnson, who succeeded Turner’s state House. “Turner is a very capable, a very smart individual, and when healthy and when his timing was right, did great things. But I don't think that it's fair to this district, I don't think that it is fair to this community that we place, potentially, us back in the same position that we just came from.”

Turner said in 2022 that he had secretly been recovering from bone cancer, and is now cancer-free.

Amanda Edwards

Edwards is making another go at the congressional seat after losing to Jackson Lee in the Democratic primary earlier this year. She dropped out of last year’s mayoral run and ran for the congressional seat after Jackson Lee announced she was running for mayor, seeming to vacate the seat. But when Jackson Lee lost the mayoral election, the two Democrats faced off in the primary, with Jackson Lee winning by over 22 points.

Edwards isn’t discouraged by that run, recognizing the seniority Jackson Lee offered. But she says this is an opportunity for new leadership who can build another generation of seniority in the House. Edwards, 42, is only a couple of years younger than Jackson Lee was when she was elected to Congress.

Edwards was a member of Houston City Council from 2016 to 2020 as an at-large member, where she had a constituency of over 2 million. While on the council, Edwards created the city’s Women and Minority-owned Business Task Force and prioritized making a fair playing field for the city’s small businesses. Protecting small business owners while also strengthening workers’ rights to unionize remains a priority for her in Congress.

Edwards also supports codifying federal abortion rights, expanding coverage under the Affordable Care Act and reforming police under the Justice in Policing Act. Other Houston-specific issues Edwards is focused on include bringing federal funds into the district for flood resiliency and environmental justice causes, such as the Fifth Ward cancer cluster. Both were priorities for Jackson Lee in Congress.

Edwards is a Harris County native, graduating from Eisenhower High School and working for Jackson Lee in her Washington office after graduating from Emory University in 2004.

“I’m the person in this race who's also been trained by the congresswoman and knows the ins and outs of the 18th congressional district DC office,” Edwards said.

Edwards ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. John Cornyn in 2020. She came in fifth place, with M.J. Hegar winning the nomination. Cornyn won the general election.

Jarvis Johnson

Johnson represented parts of the 18th Congressional District in the Texas state House, where he served on the Appropriations Committee and as vice chair of the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee. Both committee assignments align with Jackson Lee’s time in Congress, where she sat on the House Homeland Security and was an avid advocate for appropriating funds to Houston.

Johnson gave up his seat in the Texas House to run for Whitmire’s vacated seat in the state Senate. He lost that race to Democrat Molly Cook.

Johnson said he would prioritize gathering all elected officials in the district — from state legislators to city council and school board members — to prioritize which local issues should get federal funding. It’s a coordination that he said hasn’t existed under past congressional representation. The top policy priorities for him are housing, education and health care in the city, which he said he would address by bringing home federal dollars.

Johnson also said that his time in the state Legislature, where Republicans have held the majority for over 20 years, prepares him to work across the aisle in Congress. As a state appropriator, he brought $1 million to his state House district for the Booker T. Washington High School for engineering and fought for state funds to go toward constructing the Ike Dike.

One of his biggest priorities in the immediate term is ramping support for Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the White House. Johnson said that means outreach for young voters and Black men who feel disenfranchised by an older generation of Democrats.

“It is important at this time that we pass the baton,” Johnson said. “What I don't believe that the Democratic Party here, locally and nationally, has done, is speak to that populace of people that need to see themselves in the picture.”

Letitia Plummer

Plummer now occupies the at-large city council seat previously held by Edwards. The position is bound by resign-to-run laws, meaning she would give up her seat if given the Democratic nomination to run in the general election. She can’t formally call herself a candidate before then, so she won’t be participating in Saturday’s candidate forum.

In a recent interview, Plummer, 53, said her relative youth was one of her biggest assets, allowing her to occupy the seat for years and offering consistency as Jackson Lee had done.

“I have a record of the work that I've done in the community. I've got the experience, and I have the age to allow some level of creation of seniority when I get to Congres,” Plummer said.

Plummer said she would continue focusing on transportation, affordable housing, public health, small businesses and flood resiliency in Congress. She cited her work with the Department of Transportation to secure funding for the city’s Metro’s University Line and her work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency to bring federal resources to high-pollution areas. Plummer said she has a roster of “shovel-ready projects” in need of federal funding that she would fight for in Congress.

Plummer first ran for Congress in 2018, losing in the Democratic primary for the 22nd Congressional District to Sri Preston Kulkarni (Kulkarni lost in the competitive general election to former U.S. Rep. Peter Olson).

Christina Morales

Morales has served in the state Legislature since 2019 after winning in a special election against fellow Democrat Melissa Noriega. She and Noriega had made it to a runoff in an eight-way contest for the seat. In the Legislature, “I’m known as a fighter,” Morales said in a video announcing her bid for the nomination.

“Since taking office in 2019, I have not backed down from Gov. Abbott and the Republicans. They’re taking away our basic rights,” Morales said in the video.

Morales said she would prioritize protecting voting rights and fighting the state takeover of the Houston Independent School District. As a member of the state House, Morales partook in the 2021 Democratic walkout of the state House to break the quorum needed to pass Republican-led voting legislation. She also organized state leaders and community organizations in an ad hoc hearing of Houston ISD parents to speak out about the state takeover, which she called “ground zero” of Republicans’ social policy agenda.

Morales, who is Latina, will be running in a district that has a long history of Black representation in Congress, including Reps. Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland and Craig Washington.

Aside from serving in the state House, Morales runs her family’s funeral home in Houston’s East End.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/06/sheila-jackson-lee-houston-democrats-election/.

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