Gov. Greg Abbott has set Jan. 31 as the date of the special election runoff for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, meaning the Houston-based seat will remain vacant for over two more months.

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Councilmember Amanda Edwards, both Democrats, were the top two finishers in the Nov. 4 special election, running ahead of the 16-candidate field but both falling well short of the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff.

Menefee finished first with 28.9% of the vote, with Edwards in a close second at 25.6%.

The January winner will go to Washington to serve out the remainder of former Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term.

Turner died in March, two months after taking office — and less than a year after the district’s longtime congresswoman, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, died in 2024. Since Turner’s death, the seat will have been vacant for about 11 months by the time the runoff takes place.

Democrats in the district, including the top two finishers, have criticized Abbott for setting the first round of the special election 8 months after Turner’s death. And in the wake of the Nov. 4 election, they had called on Abbott to move quickly to announce a date.

The Jan. 31 date also leaves little time for the winner to pivot to the March 3 primary, which will effectively decide the district’s representative for the term beginning in 2027. That election — the real contest in this heavily Democratic district — will take place under new lines, unless a federal court strikes down Republicans’ redrawn congressional map. The 18th Congressional District is poised to change significantly, with nearly three-quarters of the district’s current eligible voting population being drawn into different districts.

The new 18th Congressional District resembles the current 9th Congressional District, long represented by Democrat Al Green. Green has already filed to run in the new 18th Congressional District, meaning that the winner of the Jan. 31 runoff will face a primary with a well-known incumbent lawmaker just a month into his or her term.

Menefee has already stated his intent to run in the primary. Edwards has not specified her plans. The filing deadline for the primary — Dec. 8 — is well before the special election.

Early voting will begin Jan. 21.

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