By Richard Cowan and Robin Respaut
WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Democrat Christian Menefee won a Texas special election for the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday, the Associated Press reported, a result that will narrow Republicans’ already slender majority in the chamber.
Democrats Menefee, 37, a former Harris County attorney, and Amanda Edwards, 44, a former Houston city council member, were vying in a runoff to represent Texas’ 18th Congressional District, a solidly Democratic area encompassing much of the inner city of Houston and the surrounding region.
The Texas secretary of state did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for confirmation of the election results.
DEMOCRAT FLIPS REPUBLICAN SEAT IN TEXAS STATE SENATE
This election does not provide insight into which party might prevail in November’s midterm congressional election. In the 2024 presidential election, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris won the district over Republican Donald Trump by 69%-29%.
But in a race for the Texas state Senate on Saturday, Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a special election, flipping a district that Trump had won by 17 percentage points in 2024.
“This victory is another sign that Democrats have the momentum heading into November,” the Democratic National Committee said in a statement.
The Texas secretary of state and the Republican Party in Texas did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the state race.
In the U.S. House, Republicans hold a 218-213 majority. Democrats will insist upon a prompt swearing-in for Menefee, tightening the Republican lead to 218-214. Three House vacancies in Georgia, New Jersey and California are scheduled to be filled by special elections in March, April and August, respectively.
Last year, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, enraged Democrats when he delayed the swearing-in of now-Representative Adelita Grijalva following a special election in Arizona. She won that contest in September but was not sworn in until mid-November.
CONTENTIOUS ISSUES FOR NARROWLY DIVIDED U.S. CONGRESS
The U.S. House district has been vacant most of the past year. Menefee will replace the late Representative Sylvester Turner, who served only two months before his death in March.
Menefee and Edwards were the top two vote-getters in a field of 16 candidates in last November’s election, requiring Saturday’s runoff.
In the coming weeks, Congress could vote on contentious issues, including legislation that would impose tougher operating procedures on federal immigration agents in Minneapolis and other cities throughout the nation. An attempt to reinstate a federal health insurance subsidy also remains a priority for many lawmakers.
Both measures, if they materialize, could be among several items decided by tight votes.
Democrats have fared well in special elections since the beginning of last year, boosting the party’s hopes of winning control of the House in November’s midterm congressional elections, especially given Trump’s anemic popularity at the moment.
All 435 House seats will be up for grabs in November. The party that holds the White House typically loses seats in the midterms.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan in Washington, D.C., Robin Respaut in San Francisco, and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sergio Non and William Mallard)
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