While Taylor Rehmet’s victory over MAGA Republican Leigh Wambsganss in the Texas Senate District 9 special election over the weekend is getting national attention for a Democrat flipping a deep red seat, down in Houston former Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has won a special election there to server out the remainder of former U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term in Congress.
But thanks to Texas’ mid-decade gerrymandered redistricting ordered by Donald Trump to try and put more Texas Republicans in Congress, Menefee and Edwards will be back on the ballot for the March primary, running in an 18th district significantly different from the one that has been one of the strongest Democratic districts in Texas for many years.
As The Texas Tribune notes, residents in Texas’ 18th Congressional District have been without representation in the U.S. House since Turner died 11 months ago, in March 2025, just two months into his term. Gov. Greg Abbott waited as long as he legally could to set a special election to fill Turner’s seat in an effort to give House Republicans a slightly larger majority for as long as possible.
In the special election in November, Menefee and former Houston City Councilmember Amanda Edwards finished ahead of a crowded field of 16 candidates, but neither managed the 50 percent of the vote necessary to win outright. On Saturday though, Menefee managed a clear win, gathering 68 percent of the votes to Edwards’ 32 percent.
Menefee, 37, served as Harris County district attorney for four years before stepping down last year to run for Congress. During his tenure, he was known for fighting back against the GOP agenda in Texas, opposing Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in court numerous times.
At his election night victory party on Saturday night, Menefee, 37, promised to fight to impeach Kristi Noem, the secretary of Homeland Security, and to “tear ICE up from the roots.” The Tribune reports that, speaking directly to Donald Trump, Menefee said, “You’ve gone nearly a year without hearing from the people of the 18th Congressional District of Texas. The results here tonight are a mandate for me to work as hard as I can to oppose your agenda, to fight back against where you’re taking this country and to investigate your crimes. And I look forward to doing so.”
Edwards, in a statement issued Saturday night said that while the election results “were not what we had hoped for,” she was proud of her campaign team’s tireless efforts to “build a grassroots movement to place people over politics in our community. Across this district, voters made clear they are ready to reject extremism and demand leadership that delivers real results for working families.”
She congratulated Menefee on his victory, adding, “As the Trump administration continues to attack our jobs, our schools and our access to health care, I will keep standing up for this community and pushing for real, common-sense solutions. This fight does not end.”
— Tammye Nash
Menefee’s race was a run off primary and he’s replacing a previous Democrat who passed away 2 months into his service, but even he replaced another Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee who passed away as well and she served for years in that seat. So to say it’s a deep red seat is FALSE. It’s a deep blue seat for years.
Hi Mary. The phrase “deep red” in this post specifically refers to Texas Senate District 9 which has been held by Republicans for decades. The last time a Democrat represented Senate District 9 was in 1979, and that was before the district lines were redrawn.You are absolutely right about the congressional district Christian Menefee won over the weekend.It’s been blue for decades, but that could change in the next election thanks to the 2025 redistricting