Texas Rep. Jolanda Jones announces bid to succeed Sylvester Turner in Congress

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State Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, on Monday jumped into the race for the congressional seat left open by the death of U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, the former Houston mayor.

“The simple fact is no one will fight harder to stop Republicans from taking away our social security, our public schools, our health care, our constitutional rights and more,” Jones said in a statement announcing her campaign.

Jones, an attorney and former Houston City Council member from 2008 to 2012, joins a slate of candidates running in the special election, including Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and fellow former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards.

“I am the only candidate in this race who has fought for our families in the Legislature, in the courtroom, on city council and on the school board,” said Jones, who was elected to the Texas House in 2022. “I helped shut down Houston’s corrupt crime lab, helped extend Medicaid coverage for new mothers and their babies and cut taxes for seniors and homeowners.”

Turner, who also served in the Texas House before his turn in Congress, died March 5, two months into his first term representing Texas’ 18th Congressional District. The district, which contains historically significant neighborhoods for Houston’s Black community, had been long represented by former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who also died in office last year amid a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The special election to fill the seat will take place Nov. 4. Gov. Greg Abbott called the election for November a month after Turner’s death, leaving a solidly blue seat open for most of 2025 as Republicans work to push through President Donald Trump’s agenda in a closely divided House.

In Congress, Jones said she would “fight to stop Trump cuts to healthcare and Medicaid, Social Security, education and veterans,” and work to expand healthcare coverage and affordability. She also emphasized bringing back the right to an abortion.

“I’ve been fighting my entire career for women’s rights, bodies, and voices, and will never stop working to restore abortion rights to make sure women — not politicians — make their own healthcare decisions,” said Jones, a criminal and family lawyer with her own practice.

The district is a Democratic stronghold, meaning the Democratic nominee is almost certain to win the election and could hold onto the seat for years.

Menefee was the first to launch his campaign, and has secured high-profile endorsements, including former U.S. Reps. Colin Allred and Beto O'Rourke, who both challenged U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Jackson Lee’s daughter, Erica Lee Carter, is serving as his campaign chair after briefly representing the district after her mother’s death.

Jones said she “deferred” her decision to run until the legislative session concluded this week so that she could focus on representing her constituents in the Texas House, where she served on the criminal jurisprudence, public health and redistricting committees. She was also the vice chair of the subcommittee on juvenile justice.

“I promised my constituents I would fight for them every day through the end of the legislative session — and I did exactly that,” she said.

During the session, Jones worked closely with both Republicans and Democrats, including on legislation to ensure that certain criminal defendants are not held behind bars pretrial for periods longer than the maximum sentence for the alleged offense.

Jones, a four-time national track and field champion, one-time contestant on CBS’ Survivor and LGBTQ advocate who often speaks about her upbringing in poverty and familial tragedy, previously served on the Houston ISD Board of Trustees.

One of her Republican colleagues, whom she worked with on the criminal jurisprudence committee, quickly gave a word of praise upon her announcement.

“This woman,” Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, posted on social media, “is truly a forced to be reckoned with.”

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