By Chelsea Lenora Small
Forward Times
https://www.forwardtimes.com/
After 332 days without representation, Houston sends a new fighter to Washington as voters brace for another election in March
Some victories feel like a celebration. Others feel like a sigh of relief. Christian Dashaun Menefee’s victory feels like both. He has won the Special Election runoff for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, ending a nearly yearlong stretch where a historic Houston seat sat empty while major decisions moved through Washington without us at the table.
Menefee’s swearing-in also tightened the balance of power in the U.S. House, shrinking the Republican majority so dramatically that House Speaker Mike Johnson can afford to lose only one Republican vote on party-line decisions. People love to talk about “margins” like they are abstract. They are not. In a moment like this, one vote can determine whether working families keep protections or lose them.
But for Houston, this is about something even more basic than party math.
This is about voice.
In an exclusive interview with Forward Times shortly after his swearing-in, Menefee described the moment as “still surreal,” saying the weight of stepping into a seat once held by giants of Houston and national politics has yet to fully settle.
“It’s been more than 330 days since the people of the 18th Congressional District had representation,” Menefee said after taking the oath. “When this body took on important votes about whether to cut SNAP benefits, about whether to make it more difficult to access Medicaid, this district had no voice in Congress. So, this one is for the 18th.”
The part people are still asking about: Why was the seat empty for so long?
Because the Special Election kept getting pushed back.
After the death of Congressman Sylvester Turner in March 2025, the district waited month after month for a chance to choose a successor.
Governor Greg Abbott ultimately set the first round of voting for November 4, 2025, and then a runoff for January 31, 2026. That is how we got to 332 days without representation.
Abbott said the timeline was about election administration. Many Democrats believed it was also political, because every day the seat stayed vacant gave House Republicans a slightly bigger cushion in Washington. Either way, the outcome on the ground was the same: Houston families were left without a federal office fully operating on their behalf.
And that absence was not just symbolic.
Constituent services are not a luxury. They are how people navigate immigration casework, Social Security, veterans issues, federal benefits, and the day-to-day problems that do not trend online but absolutely shape quality of life. Menefee has said rebuilding constituent services is an immediate priority.
Menefee told Forward Times that one of his first votes in Congress underscored just how damaging that absence had been. Representing a district with deep immigrant roots, he pointed to a vote on federal funding tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying casting a no vote against what he described as a “rogue agency that has been radicalized and is terrorizing communities” made the cost of silence unmistakably clear.
The win itself: decisive, but with turnout that should sober us
In the January 31 runoff, Menefee defeated Amanda Edwards with roughly 68.4% of the vote to her 31.6%.
That margin is not small. It is a statement.
And it came after months of campaigning in a district that has been through an unusually painful two-year stretch, including the death of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in 2024 and Turner’s passing less than a year later.
But here is the part we cannot ignore: turnout was extremely low. Just 23,652 ballots were cast out of more than 423,000 registered voters, less than 6%. That is not a scolding. It is a warning light. Confusion, fatigue, weather disruptions, and repeated elections can wear a community down.
Democracy still counts the votes. But democracy also depends on people believing their vote matters enough to show up.
Menefee was blunt about the low turnout, telling Forward Times that the off-cycle election was “designed to confuse and suppress voters,” adding that similar conditions would have produced the same result in almost any district. His focus now, he said, is rebuilding engagement by meeting people where they are and reminding them that participation is still power.
Menefee’s message: Houston is done being quiet
On election night, Menefee spoke directly to Donald Trump.
“President Trump, my message to you is this: you’ve gone nearly a year without hearing from the people of the 18th Congressional District of Texas,” Menefee said. “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.”
That is not “business as usual” language, and it is not meant to be. It reflects what many residents have been feeling in their bones: this country is entering another era where federal power may be used aggressively, and communities like ours need representation that does not hesitate.
In a time like this, readiness matters. Urgency matters. Stamina matters. And the ability to communicate clearly, even under pressure, matters.
After months on the campaign trail and years in public service, Menefee told Forward Times he feels “forged in a fire,” adding that the pace and pressure of the moment only sharpened his resolve to treat the job with the seriousness it deserves.
Menefee arrives in Congress with a record that makes his readiness easy to understand. Before this win, he served as Harris County Attorney, where he made history in 2020 by unseating a three-term incumbent to become the youngest and first Black person to hold the role. That victory was not just historic. From the start, he treated the office as a place where people could actually feel the impact of government working on their behalf.
As Texas Republicans moved to restrict voting rights and challenge election outcomes, Menefee met them in court and prevailed. When corporations polluted Black and Brown neighborhoods, his office pushed for accountability and cleanup. When families were price-gouged during hurricanes and disasters, he stepped in to hold businesses responsible. The through line was consistent: action over rhetoric, results over talking points.
That approach carried beyond Harris County. Menefee became part of the national legal fight against Donald Trump’s agenda, challenging efforts to cut funding for life-saving medical research and to deny birthright citizenship to immigrant families.
That work is demanding, public, and often unrelenting. But it is grounded somewhere.
Away from the courtroom, Menefee’s life is firmly rooted here. He lives in Houston with his wife, Kaitlyn, their sons, Gabriel and Malcolm, and their rescue dogs, Howie and Kennedy. For supporters, that grounding matters. It shows up in how he talks about policy not as abstraction, but as something that touches real families, real neighborhoods, and real futures.
Menefee emphasized that governing means reaching people beyond algorithms and platforms. “I’m not just trying to talk to people on Instagram,” he told Forward Times. “I want to talk to everybody. Folks who read print. Folks who watch TV. Folks who stream. We’re going to figure out how to reach every corner of this district.”
The twist that has people saying, “Wait, so we have to vote again?”
Yes.
The Special Election only fills the remainder of Turner’s term, which runs through the end of 2026. So Menefee is being sworn in and immediately turning around to run again, this time for a full term under new district lines.
The Democratic primary is March 3, 2026, with early voting February 17–27.
And this is where the story gets complicated for voters.
Not because the district chose chaos, but because the lines were redrawn beneath their feet.
Because Texas redrew the maps.
When redistricting reshapes more than maps
Redistricting did not just redraw lines. It reshaped the entire conversation.
Texas Republicans pursued an unusual mid-decade redistricting push that altered multiple districts across the state, including here in Houston. The result was not simply new boundaries on a map, but widespread confusion among voters trying to understand where they belong, who represents them, and why familiar political ground suddenly feels unfamiliar.
Under the newly drawn lines for the March Democratic primary, longtime Congressman Al Green now resides in the 18th Congressional District and has entered the race, alongside Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards.
It is difficult to overstate how disruptive this has been.
Voters are being asked to make a high-stakes decision in a district that is still grieving, still recalibrating after repeated elections, and still trying to keep up with shifting boundaries. Many residents will be voting for a congressional representative for the third time in just a few months.
This is how voter confusion takes hold. And it is not accidental.
Congressman Green did not seek this collision. It was created for him.
Redistricting placed a deeply respected, long-serving leader in a position that no one would call ideal or fair. Green has represented Houston in Congress for decades, building relationships, influence, and institutional knowledge that cannot be replicated overnight. His wisdom, his national connections, and his understanding of how power moves through Washington are assets this community has relied on for years.
Many voters speak about Green with reverence, not just for what he has done publicly, but for how long he has shown up. They point to his consistency, his willingness to challenge presidents, and his deep understanding of how to navigate systems that were never designed with communities like ours in mind.
That history matters.
At the same time, the reality facing the 18th District is undeniable. Redistricting has forced three strong Democratic leaders into the same race at a moment when the community is craving stability, clarity, and unity. Instead of building together, the district now finds itself in a contest shaped more by political maneuvering than by collective intention.
And with that reality set, the district now has to move forward anyway.
What happens next
Here is the clearest way to think about it:
- January 31, 2026: Menefee wins the Special Election runoff and becomes Congressman-elect.
- February 2, 2026: Menefee is sworn in and TX-18 officially regains its vote in Congress.
- February 17–27, 2026: Early voting for the Democratic primary in the newly drawn district.
- March 3, 2026: Democratic primary election day, with Menefee, Green, and Edwards on the ballot.
This is why people feel like the story keeps restarting. Because it does.
Menefee’s win does not erase the confusion of the last year, but it does answer the loudest question the community has been asking: are we going to have a voice again?
Yes.
Now comes the harder part: deciding who the community wants to carry that voice beyond this partial term, through the next Congress, and into what is shaping up to be another defining political era for the country.
And that decision will not be made on cable news. It will be made in churches, barbershops, living rooms, group chats, and polling lines across Houston.
Asked directly about calls for unity ahead of the March primary, Menefee told Forward Times he believes the district is ready to move forward together. “We’ve been through a lot,” he said. “Sometimes family fights, but when it’s over, it’s time to work hand in hand to serve the community.”
Menefee described himself not as the owner of the seat, but its steward, telling Forward Times he views his role as that of a “temporary shepherd,” responsible for honoring the district’s legacy while working relentlessly to uplift the people who placed their trust in him.
That sense of stewardship carries particular weight in a district that knows how to produce history. It has done so through leaders who shaped not only Houston, but the nation itself. From Barbara Jordan, the first Black woman from the South elected to Congress, whose moral clarity helped guide the country through Watergate, to Mickey Leland, whose fierce advocacy for the poor and the hungry expanded the meaning of humanitarian leadership. From Craig Washington, whose bold, uncompromising voice in Congress challenged power and precedent, to Sheila Jackson Lee, a relentless champion for civil rights, healthcare, and global justice. And from Sylvester Turner, a former Houston mayor whose service bridged local governance and national responsibility.
This seat has never been about a title alone. For more than fifty years, the 18th Congressional District has sent leaders to Washington who understood that their power came from the people, and that their responsibility was to use it fully.
Now, in March, the district is being asked to choose deliberately once again. Not just a name, but a direction. With clarity about the stakes, and enough unity to focus its power where it matters most.
Because in Trump’s America, and under Abbott’s Texas, the people of the 18th cannot afford to be sidelined ever again.
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