Christian Menefee, top civil attorney for Harris County government, announces bid for Sylvester Turner’s congressional seat

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Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee announced on Monday his bid for the congressional seat left vacant by the death of Democratic U.S. Rep. and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

“I’m running because working families need a fighter,” Menefee said in an interview. “The fight for the soul of this country is happening right now in D.C., as Trump and Elon Musk roll back programs, lay off federal workers and impact people right here on the ground.”

Menefee, who serves as the chief government lawyer for Texas' most populous county, filed his intent to run as a Democrat to represent the 18th Congressional District on Saturday evening, hours after a memorial service was held in West Houston for Turner. He was the first to announce his candidacy for the seat, which will likely remain in Democratic control.

Menefee was first elected to county office in Nov. 2020 at 32 years old, becoming the youngest person and first Black American elected to the position, according to his office’s website. He grew up in the Houston-based congressional district and is raising his children there.

“This is home for me,” he said.

As Harris County's top civil lawyer, he frequently challenged the state's top Republican leaders, including over voting rights and Republican attempts to exert greater state control over local Democratic governance.

Menefee has also fought legal battles over environmental issues and sought to address the disparate impacts of pollution on communities of color. He has been a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump’s executive orders and signed an amicus brief in a federal lawsuit challenging Trump’s order to terminate birthright citizenship.

In the interview, Menefee said his experience as county attorney prepared him to take on the Trump administration and also work with Republicans when possible.

“There are going to be days where we must stand firm and fight back,” he said, including against efforts by the Trump administration to spend federal funding in a way not authorized by Congress, which holds the constitutional power of the purse. “But there’s also going to be days where it’s about collaboration … I know how to work with Republicans. I’ve done it for the four years that I’ve been in office.”

His priorities in Congress would include expanding health-care access, protecting clean air and water, increasing disaster recovery funding for the Gulf Coast district and improving affordability.

The prospect of the Trump administration ignoring court orders to pursue its agenda factored in to Menefee's decision to jump in the race, he said. His job since the start of Trump's second term "has been completely changed.”

“Every day, we are scrambling,” he said, trying to decipher the latest executive order or decision to cut certain programs.

“What I realized very quickly is the fight for our democratic institutions, the fight for ensuring that the branches of government work in the way that they’re supposed to, is happening right now in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “There was a lot of work that I could do as Harris County Attorney to try to blunt some of that, but it’s getting out of control, and it’s moving at a pace now to where we must do everything we can to ensure that Donald Trump is blocked in Washington, D.C.”

Elected officials who announce their candidacy in any special, general or primary election automatically resign their position if they have more than a year and 30 days left of their term, according to a provision of the Texas Constitution. Menefee was reelected to a second four-year term in November.

The race to replace Turner will mark the second time within a year that the coveted seat is up for election. Turner filled the spot vacated by former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died after a battle with pancreatic cancer after having served in the seat for decades.

Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet declared a special election to fill Turner’s seat. State law does not specify a deadline for the governor to call a special election.

“It is my hope that the governor calls the election for as soon as legally possible, so that folks can have representation in Congress,” Menefee said, vowing to remain in the race to stand up to Trump either way. "This is not a six month fight, it's not a 2025 fight. It's a fight that will continue into the future.”

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