Menefee wins special runoff election for Congressional District 18

Updated Feb. 1 at 10:15 a.m.

With all 68 voting centers reporting, Democratic candidate Christin Dashaun Menefee has won the runoff for Congressional District 18, according to unofficial results from Harris County.

Results are unofficial until canvassed at a later date.

The results show Menefee with 16,174 votes, or 68.38% of the vote, to Amanda Edwards' 7,478 votes, or 31.62% of the vote, unofficial results show.

As previously reported by Community Impact, a special election was held in November to fill the vacant congressional seat following the death of incumbent Sylvester Turner in March.

Updated Jan. 31 at 10:30 p.m.

With 34 of 68 voting centers reporting election day results, Democratic candidate Christian Dashaun Menefee continues to maintain his lead in the special runoff election for Congressional District 18.

Menefee is in the lead with 11,630 votes, or 67.49% of all votes, while Democratic opponent Amanda Edwards follows with 5,602 votes, or 32.51% of all votes.

Results are unofficial until canvassed at a later date.In a Facebook Live on Jan. 31 around 9 p.m., Menefee claimed victory and thanked his family, friends, donors and campaign team for their support throughout the campaign.

“We ran a race that was upright, that was run with integrity and that focused on what we were going to do without attacking anybody else,” Menefee said in the Facebook Live.

Menefee also highlighted his priorities, including Medicare expansion, strengthening social safety nets such as WIC and SNAP, and addressing immigration.

“I want to raise the minimum wage. I want health care for everybody in this country. I want our small businesses, especially minority and women-owned businesses, to be seen,” Menefee said. “I want a government that is for the people, that is by the people, that is of the people. And y’all have my word, that every single day in Congress, I will fight for you, I will do what’s best for our communities, and I will be the same man when no one’s looking as I am right here standing before you today.”

As previously reported by Community Impact, Menefee is an attorney and previously served as Harris County Attorney after being first elected in 2021 and re-elected in 2024. Menefee resigned in March 2025 after announcing his candidacy for Congressional District 18.

Posted Jan. 31 at 7:15 p.m.

Early voting results from the Harris County Clerk's Office show Democratic candidate Christian Dashaun Menefee taking the lead in the special runoff election for Texas' 18th Congressional District.

The latest

Menefee is in the lead with 9,077 votes, or 66.64% of all votes, while Democratic opponent Amanda Edwards follows with 4,544 votes, or 33.36% of all votes.

Results are unofficial until canvassed at a later date. Some context

As previously reported by Community Impact, a special election was held in November to fill the vacant congressional seat following the death of incumbent Sylvester Turner in March.

The special election, which had 16 candidates, resulted in a runoff election between the top two vote-getters: Menefee and Edwards. The winner of the special runoff election will serve Congressional District 18 for the remainder of Turner's unexpired term, which ends in January 2027.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected for a two-year term with no term limits.

Something to note

A Harris County district judge granted an emergency court order on Jan. 26 to extend early voting in the special runoff election after severe winter weather forced the closure of polling places from Jan. 25-26.

The order required Harris County to open all early voting locations from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 28 and from noon-7 p.m. Jan. 29 to restore the voting hours lost when polls closed due to hazardous weather conditions.

One more thing

The special runoff election is separate from the upcoming primary election, which will be held March 3 for Congressional District 18. The winners of the Republican and Democratic primaries will face each other in November with the winner beginning to serve District 18 in January 2027. Both Menefee and Edwards are running in the Democratic primary for Congressional District 18.

Following congressional redistricting, which will take effect in January 2027, District 18 will cover portions of southwest, central and northeast Houston. However, for the special runoff election, District 18 will follow the current district map, which covers portions of north, west and east Houston.

Stay tuned

Community Impact will update this article as more Election Day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.

Wesley Gardner contributed to this report.