Gov. Abbott sets special election date to fill Sylvester Turner's vacant Congressional seat

HOUSTON - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has set a date for the special election to fill the Congressional seat held by late Rep. Sylvester Turner.

Gov. Abbott sets election date for Sylvester Turner's seat

Gov. Abbott issued a proclamation announcing that Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 will be the date of the special election to fill Turner's vacant 18th Congressional District seat.

Any candidates who wish to have their named on the ballot for the special election must file with the Texas Secretary of State's office no later than 5 p.m. on Sept. 3, 2025.

Early voting in the election will begin on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.

Local perspective:

Until the election, Texas' 18th Congressional District  will not have a vote in the House of Representatives.

The district's offices will continue to represent the people of TX-18 by offering constituent services.

What they're saying:

"No county in Texas does a worse job of conducting elections than Harris County," said Governor Abbott. "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. The appropriate time to hold this election is November, which will give Harris County sufficient time to prepare for such an important election."

Menefee on Special Election

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee is one of the candidates running for Turner's seat.

Menefee released a statement after the special election date was announced.

What they're saying:

"It is unconscionable to leave nearly 800,000 people in this district without representation in Congress for most of the year," Menefee said. "We’ll go through hurricane season, budget battles, and attacks on Social Security and Medicaid with no one at the table fighting for us. Governor Abbott knows how to move quickly—he’s done it for other districts. He just chose not to for us."

Texas' 18th Congressional District

The backstory:

Congressman Sylvester Turner died on March 5, 2025.

Turner was elected to represent Texas' 18th Congressional District in the November 2024 election.

The district includes much of inner-city Houston and the surrounding areas.

Before Turner, the seat was held for a short time by Erica Lee Carter, the daughter of late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Lee represented the district from 1995 until July 2024, when she died of pancreatic cancer.

Abbott called the special election to fill Lee's seat about two weeks after her death.

Several Democrats have been critical of Abbott's delay in setting the special election date, missing the deadline to hold an election in May.

There are currently 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats in Congress, with Turner and Arizona Democrat Raul Grijalva's seats remaining vacant.

Texas' 18th Congressional District Candidates

Several candidates have already filed FEC paperwork to run for Texas' 18th District.

Democrats:

• Christian Menefee
• Amanda Edwards
• Laverne Crump
• Earnest Clayton
• Kivan Polimis
• Robert Slater
• Selena Samuel
• Isaiah Martin
• James Joseph

Republicans:

• Deshon Porter
• Cyrus Sajna

Independents:

• Derrell Turner
• Chance Davis
• Khristopher Beal
• Tejas Tuppera

Texas PoliticsGreg AbbottTexas