Two local competitive Democratic primaries are feeling the ripple effects of last year’s race for Houston mayor.
John Whitmire easily defeated U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in a December runoff and took office at the beginning of the year, vacating his state Senate District 15 seat. Six candidates now are vying to become the first person other than Whitmire to hold that seat in more than 40 years.
After losing the mayoral election by nearly 30 percentage points, Jackson Lee has not left the campaign trail. The incumbent, first elected to Congressional District 18 in 1994, faces a well-funded challenge from a former opponent in the mayor’s race, Amanda Edwards.
The Democratic and Republican primaries are March 5. Early voting begins Feb. 20.
Both races saw a flurry of activity in the 48-hour period between the Dec. 9 runoff for mayor and the Dec. 11 filing deadline for 2024 state and federal elections.
With Whitmire polling well ahead of Jackson Lee, four candidates already had filed to run for SD-15 prior to the runoff. Two more announced their candidacies after Whitmire’s victory was confirmed.