HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A special election on Nov. 4 features more than 15 candidates hoping to fill a historic congressional seat. The 18th congressional district has remained empty since Sylvester Turner died in March.
From Barbara Jordan, the first woman of color elected to Congress from the deep south, to Mickey Leland, Sheila Jackson Lee, and, most recently, Sylvester Turner, the 18th congressional district has a history of outspoken advocates representing Houstonians on Capitol Hill.
“The 18th congressional district could be what is considered to be a legacy district,” Michael Adams with Texas Southern University said. “It has been a safe district for African American candidates, if you will.”
But for more than seven months, since Turner’s sudden death in March, that voice has been silent– without a special election to fill the seat until Nov. 4.
“It’s unheard of, and it seems as though politics have been played,” Adams told ABC13. “As we know, the Governor waited until November to call this election.”
On Scott Street, in the heart of the district, Lewis Goode owns Goode Looks Barber Shop, where they’ve been pushing customers to register to vote.
“We have a lot of UH students and a lot of TSU students come in here,” he said. “We all ask (them), are they registered to vote? You would be kind of amazed that a lot of the 18-year-old kids are not registered to vote yet.”
The question now is, where will some of them vote?
The boundaries changed for the district in the last legislative session, as Texas Republicans sought to add to their advantage in Congress. The new boundaries, which would compose much of the current 9th district, won’t be in effect for the special election but would be for the 2026 primary just five months from now.
Whoever ultimately wins in either the special election or in 2026 for the next term will be the voice that the 18th district has been missing, no matter how it is drawn.
“You’ve always had an advocate in terms of the congressperson who represented the district,” Adams said.
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