Texas Governor Greg Abbott officially appointed early elections On Nov. 5, 2024, the same day as the general election, to replace the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.
A special election will only determine who will serve out the remainder of Jackson Lee’s term until January. Meanwhile, a general election on the same day will determine who will serve the next term, which starts in January and ends in January 2027.
Because Jackson Lee won in March, there will be no primary for the general election. Instead, the district’s 88 Democratic precinct chairmen will vote later this month to select the party’s nominee for the general election.
On the same day as Abbott’s announcement, former Houston mayor Sylvester Turner and former city council member Amanda Edwards said they would each be fired. crowded race to replace Jackson Lee in the state’s 18th Congressional District.
Edwards had a major challenge against Jackson Lee earlier this year won increased by more than 20 percentage points in March.
In a statement Friday, Edwards thanked the late congressman for his service, saying, “This is a long-term fight, and I intend to do so as your next congressman.”
In a statement Friday, Turner called Jackson Lee his “dear friend” and said, “As we mourn his passing, we must choose who will fill his shoes.”
“I look forward to working every day to not only honor and perpetuate the Congressman’s legacy, but to move the thriving 18th District forward into its next chapter in history,” Turner said.
The governor’s official statement says that other candidates who want to participate in the early elections should declare their candidacies by August 22.
Earlier in the week, mourners, including Vice President Kamala Harris, gathered in Houston for a memorial service for Jackson Lee. The late congressman died on July 19 after battling cancer.
Jackson Lee has served in the House of Representatives since 1995.
Bianca Seward contributed.