Abbott delays blue district’s special election, citing logistical challenges – Washington Examiner
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has delayed calling a special election to fill the seat of the late Rep. Sylvester Turner in Texas’s 18th Congressional District, citing concerns over Harris County’s election management capabilities.The seat has been vacant for nearly a month since Turner’s death on March 5. Abbott criticized Harris County’s past performance in handling elections and stated that he wants to ensure a fair and accurate election process before announcing a date. In response, Harris County officials defended their election management track record, claiming they are prepared to conduct the election whenever it is indeed called. The governor’s decision has faced backlash from Democratic leaders who suggest the delay is a strategy to maintain a Republican majority in Congress, with some considering legal action against him. Abbott’s previous handling of a special election for another seat in the same district has been contrasted with the current delay.
Abbott delays blue district’s special election, citing logistical challenges
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has yet to call a special election to fill recently deceased Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner’s seat in Texas’s 18th Congressional District.
He blamed Harris County’s abilities in conducting elections for his delay in announcing an election for the seat, which has been vacant for nearly a month since Turner died on March 5.
“Listen, there’s gonna be time to do it,” Abbott said in an interview with Nexstar Media Group. “Know this, that election is in Harris County and Harris County is a repeat failure as it concerns operating elections. Had I called that very quickly, it could have led to a failure in that election just like Harris County has failed in other elections. They need to have adequate time to operate a fair and accurate election, not a crazy election like what they’ve conducted in the past.
“I will be announcing that sometime soon, but I wanna make sure that Harris County has all the opportunity to get this right, unlike what they’ve done in the past,” he added.
People have asked why I did not immediately call to fill the late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s seat. Here is why: pic.twitter.com/ngl8PHCe1P
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 4, 2025
The Harris County clerk disputed that the county has had election failures. “Since the Texas Legislature returned election administration duties to the Harris County Clerk’s Office on September 1, 2023, my office has successfully conducted eight elections — including the 2024 joint primary election — in collaboration with key stakeholders such as the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, the Harris County Republican and Democratic parties, Commissioners Court, and others,” a statement by clerk Teneshia Hudspeth says. “We remain fully prepared to conduct the Congressional District 18 election as soon as the Governor issues the order.”
Abbott took two weeks to set a special election date after the death of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who also represented Texas’s 18th District. He set the special election for Nov. 5, the same day as the general election.
The Texas governor won’t have the opportunity to line up the special election with a general election this time, with the midterms still about a year and a half away.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) believes Abbott is delaying the special election on purpose and says it is “very likely” they will sue him over the delay. Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder matched Jeffries, saying Abbott would have to “lawyer up” if he didn’t call an election.
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Christian Menefee, the Harris County attorney who has announced his intent to run for the seat, called the governor’s statement “nonsense” and said the delay is about “helping Republicans maintain a narrow majority in Congress.” Republicans currently have a majority of seven, with 220 seats compared to Democrats 213. The two vacant seats were held by Democrats.
Menefee suggested June or July as suitable months for the election, and added that “democracy delayed is democracy denied.” If elected, Menefee would be decades younger than either Turner or Lee on their last day in office.
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