The congressional seat, which covers some of the most densely populated portions of Houston, has been empty since Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner’s sudden death on March 5. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Due to the passing of Texas’ mid-decade redistricting bill, the district will split into districts 9, 29 and 18. However, this change will not happen until March and will not impact the runoff election.
Though both candidates have been vocal critics of President Donald Trump, Menefee has been endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus Political Action Committee. He has been praised by the likes of Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Greg Casar, D-Texas, and Maxwell Frost, D-Fla.
In a joint statement, the three called Menefee a "proven fighter" against "Republican overreach" and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney Ken Paxton and the Trump administration.
"As the youngest person and first African-American to serve as chief civil lawyer for Texas’s largest county, Christian Menefee has a demonstrated record of standing up to Republican overreach and delivering results for working families," the three said in the statement. "He has won multi-million dollar settlements holding corporations accountable for emissions deception and deceptive marketing and has protected communities by taking on polluters and discriminatory landfill expansion. He has taken on Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton and the Trump administration. Christian is the proven fighter Texas’s 18th district needs. We are proud to back his campaign."
MEXICAN IMMIGRANT-TURNED-CONGRESSWOMAN BLASTS DEM CLAIMS TEXAS REDISTRICTING HURTS HISPANIC VOTE
Houston, Texas, at dusk. (Reuters/Richard Carson)
She states that "under President Trump’s leadership, our country has seen devastating attacks on our democracy, divisive rhetoric that weakened communities, and policies that have harmed the middle class and working families."
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Turner died at age 70, having only served in Congress for just months. He also served as mayor of Houston for eight years, from 2016 to 2024. He replaced the late Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, who also died in office in 2024, after serving in Congress for 29 years.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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