The special election held in the 18th congressional District in Texas on Tuesday is headed to a runoff.
No candidate eclipsed the 50% threshold in Tuesday’s election to fill the seat vacated after the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-TX) in March 2025. Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards were the top two vote getters on Tuesday, earning 29.4% and 25.7% respectively, the Associated Press reported, with 78% of the vote counted as of Wednesday morning.
If the results hold, Menefee and Edwards will advance to a second round of voting, which will be determined by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) at a future date. The winner of that election will replace Turner and serve out the duration of his current term.
Menefee expressed enthusiasm for advancing, saying he was on “cloud nine” after the election results showed him advancing.
“I’m on cloud nine,” Menefee said to KPRC 2 News, an NBC affiliate in Houston, Texas. “In a race with 16 people, we came out seven points ahead of the next closest candidate. Making clear that we have a groundswell of support, a broad, diverse coalition of folks who are rocking with the campaign. I’m going to sleep great tonight, but tomorrow we get back to work.”
Edwards, a former U.S. Senate candidate and city councilwoman in Houston, took a more cautious approach when speaking about the election results.
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“Right now, it’s just too early to call anything with the early voting numbers,” Edwards told KPRC 2 News. “Of course, if things stay on trend, we are really well-positioned to make it into this runoff and win this race.”
Turner, the congressional representative whom they will be replacing, has a long political legacy in Houston, Texas. Before winning the 2024 election to be the 18th district’s congressional representative, Turner was mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024. He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives before becoming mayor, serving in that position from 1989 to 2016. Incidentally, Turner was elected to replace Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), who also died in office in July 2024.