Texas Governor Sets Nov. 4 Special Election for Vacant House Seat

Gov. Greg Abbott cites election integrity concerns in Harris County; Democrats say the delayed special election leaves residents without representation.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks at a National Urban League event in Houston on July 28, 2023. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on April 7 set the special election date for Texas’s 18th Congressional District as Nov. 4.

The seat was left vacant on March 5 after the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner, the former Houston mayor who had only recently taken office after a decades-long career in state and local politics. His family said Turner, 70, died due to ongoing health complications.

The governor, in his announcement, said holding the election in November would give Harris County adequate time to prepare.

“No county in Texas does a worse job of conducting elections than Harris County,” Abbott said in a statement. “They repeatedly fail to conduct elections consistent with state law. Safe and secure elections are critical to the foundation of our state. Forcing Harris County to rush this special election on weeks’ notice would harm the interests of voters.”

Candidates must file by Sept. 3 to appear on the ballot, with early voting to begin on Oct. 20.

Harris County, where Houston is located, has faced scrutiny in recent years because of problems that have included long lines, poll worker and ballot shortages, and ballots that were not counted on the day of the election, according to the Associated Press.

Last week, Teneshia Hudspeth, the chief elections officer in Harris County, said her office was ready to hold the election.

“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,” she said in the statement. “We remain fully prepared to conduct the Congressional District 18 election as soon as the governor issues the order.”

Some Democratic leaders say the delay will leave hundreds of thousands without representation for most of the year.

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, also a Democratic candidate for the seat, accused the governor of delaying the vote to benefit Republicans as they hold a slim majority in the U.S. House.

“We’ll go through hurricane season, budget battles, and attacks on Social Security and Medicaid with no one at the table fighting for us,” Menefee said in a series of posts on X.

Menefee, along with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), had threatened to sue Abbott over the special election date.