Democrat Christian Menefee, a former attorney for Houston's Harris County, has won a special congressional election in a left-leaning district in Texas, which has been vacant for nearly a year.
The Associated Press reports that Menefee defeated former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, a fellow Democrat, in Saturday's runoff election to fill the seat left vacant when Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner died last March.
Menefee's victory means the Republicans' razor-thin House majority — they currently control the chamber 218-213 — will shrink by one seat when Menefee is sworn in to Congress.
Sylvester, a former longtime state lawmaker, served two terms as Houston mayor before winning election to Congress in 2024 to fill the seat of the late longtime Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
While Texas has redrawn its congressional maps for the 2026 midterms, as part of the high-stakes redistricting battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats, the special election used the state's current district lines.
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- by: Paul Steinhauser
- 2026-01-31
- Source:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-gops-already-fragile-majority-further-shrink-after-democrats-ballot-box-victory
- 02/02/2026
Speaker Mike Johnson by Gage Skidmore is licensed under Gage Skidmore
Speaker Mike Johnson by Gage Skidmore is licensed under Gage Skidmore