House GOP's already fragile majority to further shrink after Democrats' ballot box victory
Democrat Christian Menefee, a former attorney for Houston's Harris County, has won a special congressional election in a left-leaning congressional district in Texas, which has been vacant for nearly a...
By Fox News · Fox News
Democrat Christian Menefee, a former attorney for Houston's Harris County, has won a special congressional election in a left-leaning congressional district in Texas, which has been vacant for nearly a year. The Associated Press reports that Menefee defeated former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, a fellow Democrat, in Saturday's runoff election to fill the seat left vacant when Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner died last March. Menefee's victory means the Republicans' razor-thin House majority — they currently control the chamber 218-213 — will shrink by one seat when Menefee is sworn in to Congress. DEMOCRATIC TAKEOVER FEARS SOAR AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS CLING TO FRAGILE MAJORITY Sylvester, a former longtime state lawmaker, served two terms as Houston mayor before winning election to Congress in 2024, to fill the seat of the late longtime Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. While Texas has redrawn its congressional maps for the 2026 midterms, as part of the high-stakes redistricting battle between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats, the special election used the state's current district lines. The addition of another lawmaker into the House Democrats' ranks will give Republican leadership in the chamber further headaches. "They'd better be here," House Speaker Mike Johnson recently said of his members. "I told everybody, and not in jest, I said, no adventure sports, no risk-taking, take your vitamins. Stay healthy and be here." DEMOCRATIC TAKEOVER FEARS SOAR AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS CLING TO FRAGILE MAJORITY And House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s office confirmed it is advising members that "outside of life-and-death circumstances," they expect Republican lawmakers to be on Capitol Hill. Three other special congressional elections are on tap this year. Eleven candidates are running in the Feb. 5 Democratic Party primary in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District. The seat was left vacant after now New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill stepped down a…