Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee died on Friday at the age of 74, just weeks after she announced she was being treated for pancreatic cancer. Jackson Lee spent almost 30 years representing Texas' 18th District, a safely Democratic constituency that includes parts of central and northern Houston, and she won renomination for a 16th term following a competitive primary back in March.
The Houston Chronicle's Taylor Goldenstein writes that the executive committee of the Harris County Democratic Party has until Aug. 26 to select a new general election nominee. If leaders are unable to pick someone, the Texas Democratic Party would choose a candidate, with an Aug. 28 deadline.
It remains to be seen whether Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will call a special election for the remainder of Jackson Lee's current term, or if the 18th District will remain vacant until the start of the 119th Congress in January. Goldenstein notes that there's no deadline for Abbott to make a decision.
Jackson Lee's eventual successor will replace a well-known liberal congresswoman who, despite several controversies and a major loss at the ballot box last year, proved to be popular with her constituents.
Jackson Lee, who grew up in Queens, transferred from New York University to Yale after the latter began admitting women in 1969. After a stint as a staffer for the House Select Committee on Assassinations, which was tasked with looking into the deaths of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., she moved to Texas when her husband got a job teaching at the University of Houston.
Jackson Lee, though, initially struggled to get her start in Space City politics. She lost two races for local judicial posts, and while she received an appointment to the bench in 1987, her subsequent campaign for the Texas District Court also ended in defeat. Her fortunes changed in 1989, however, when she decisively won a race for a citywide seat on the Houston City Council.
In 1994, she sought a promotion when she waged a primary challenge against Rep. Craig Washington, who had done much during his four years in office to make himself vulnerable. Washington, who worked as an attorney before winning a 1989 special election, was sentenced to 30 days in prison before taking office for leaving his clients "in the lurch," and he went on to file for bankruptcy while owing over $300,000 in taxes—over $700,000 today when adjusted for inflation.
The congressman also compiled the second-worst attendance record in the House, and he made enemies back in Texas with the votes he did take. Washington opposed NASA projects important to the region and also cast a "no" vote on NAFTA, which was popular locally. Jackson Lee, who campaigned under the slogan "Representation You Can Be Proud Of," defeated the congressman in a 63-37 landslide before winning the first of what would be many easy general election victories.
Jackson Lee soon established herself as an ardent liberal who, in the words of the Texas Tribune, was "known for her frequent visibility at constituent graduations, funerals, food drives and baby showers." But the Democrat was also widely respected by her colleagues for her legislative acumen and ability to get results for her district, and in 2021, she sponsored the bill that established Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
Jackson Lee's critics, however, cast her as a relentless attention-seeker and highlighted her high staff turnover. Congressional aides frequently ranked her the biggest "show horse," "biggest windbag," and "meanest" member of the House for Washingtonian Magazine’s annual "Best and Worst of Congress" list. Jackson Lee argued in response that, as a Black woman, she was subject to a double standard that wasn't applied to the many white men she served alongside.
These brickbats, however, never diminished Jackson Lee's standing at home. The one time she drew a notable primary foe prior to 2024 came in 2010, when Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson sought to deny her renomination.
Johnson argued that the incumbent had been ineffective in office and faulted her for speaking at pop star Michael Jackson's funeral the previous year and using it as a venue to showcase her unsuccessful House resolution to honor him as a "world humanitarian." But Jackson Lee, who had President Barack Obama's endorsement, decisively prevailed 67-28.
The congresswoman, however, learned last year that she wasn't quite so popular citywide when she launched a surprise campaign to succeed termed-out Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
Jackson Lee's main opponent in this officially nonpartisan contest was state Sen. John Whitmire, a Democrat who had cultivated a moderate image and enjoyed a strong relationship with prominent conservative donors. Thanks in part to these relationships, Whitmire had millions stockpiled during his decades in the legislature and massively outspent Jackson Lee and the rest of the field.
Jackson Lee also attracted unwanted headlines in October after an anonymous person posted what they claimed was audio of her calling her staffers "[t]wo Goddamn big-ass children, fuckin' idiots who serve no Goddamn purpose," as well as "fuck-ups" and a "fat-ass stupid idiot." The congresswoman, while neither confirming nor denying the voice belonged to her, still acknowledged she had "fallen short of my own standards."
Both Whitmire and Jackson Lee advanced to a December runoff but despite having Turner's endorsement, Jackson Lee was on the wrong end of a 65-35 rout. She didn't have long to dwell on that defeat, though, as the congresswoman now had to defend her seat against a well-funded primary foe.
That foe was former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards, who had once been one of Jackson Lee's interns. Edwards had ended her own bid for mayor after Jackson Lee entered the race and instead launched a bid to succeed her in Congress, though Edwards soon made it clear she'd continue to run even if she'd have to go up against her old boss.
That matchup came to pass soon enough. Edwards began the race with a huge financial advantage over Jackson Lee, who had little left to spend after her mayoral campaign. Edwards, who was three decades younger than the incumbent, pitched herself as an agent of change and largely avoided attacking Jackson Lee.
The incumbent, though, relied on her decades of local service and prominent endorsements, including from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, to make the case she should remain in office. Primary voters agreed, and Jackson Lee scored a 60-37 victory in what turned out to be her final campaign.
