Gov. Greg Abbott announced April 7 that a special election will occur Nov. 4 to fill the empty 18th Congressional District seat vacated by former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
What we know
Turner died in early March after serving as Congressman for only four to five months. He replaced the late Sheila Jackson Lee in a special election in November after she died from pancreatic cancer in mid-2024. Similar to last year's timeline, Abbott waited a little over a month to call a special election for the vacant position and ultimately opted to hold an election during normal voter turnout.
"Forcing Harris County to rush this special election on weeks' notice would harm the interest of voters," Abbott said in a statement. "The appropriate time to hold this election is November, which will give Harris County sufficient time to prepare for such an important election."
