Christian Menifee, a Democrat and former attorney in Houston’s Harris County, won a special congressional election in Texas’ left-leaning congressional district that has been vacant for nearly a year.
Menifee defeated former Houston City Council member and fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards in Saturday’s runoff to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner last March, the Associated Press reported.
Menifee’s victory means that when Menifee is sworn into Congress, Republicans’ slim majority in the House of Representatives, which they currently control 218 to 213, will be reduced by one seat.
Fears of Democratic takeover soar as House Republicans hold on to fragile majority
Harris County Prosecutor Christian Menifee is endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus Political Action Committee.
(Fox News)
Sylvester is a longtime state lawmaker who served two terms as Houston mayor before winning congressional election in 2024 to fill the seat of the late, longtime Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
While Texas redraws its congressional maps for the 2026 midterm elections, the special election uses the state’s current district lines as part of President Donald Trump and the high-stakes redistricting fight between Republicans and Democrats.
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Texas Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner passed away on March 5, 2025.
Another lawmaker joining the ranks of House Democrats would create further headaches for Republican leadership in the chamber.
“They better be here,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said recently of his members. “I’m not joking when I tell you, don’t do adventure sports, don’t take risks, take your vitamins. Stay healthy and stay here.”
Fears of Democratic takeover soar as House Republicans hold on to fragile majority
Louisiana House Speaker Mike Johnson walks out of the House chamber to talk to reporters after the final vote to end the longest government shutdown in history, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s office confirmed it is advising lawmakers “in a life-or-death situation” that they want Republican members to remain on Capitol Hill.
There are three other special congressional elections this year.
Eleven candidates will compete in the Democratic primary on February 5 in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.
The seat has been vacant since the election of the current New Jersey governor. Mickey Sherrill Resigned after winning November’s Garden State gubernatorial election.
Then-Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill resigned from Congress in November after winning the New Jersey gubernatorial election.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face off against Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, the only Republican to file to run in the April 16 special election.
Sherrill won re-election in 2024 by 15 percentage points in a northern suburban New Jersey district that leans left, the same margin she won in the November gubernatorial runoff.
Reporter’s Notes: More than 40 members of the House of Representatives quit, threatening Johnson’s control of power
But then-Vice President Kamala Harris won the district by just 8 points in the 2024 presidential election, giving Republicans some hope of potentially flipping the seat.
As many as 22 candidates, including 17 Republicans, will compete in the special election in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District to succeed former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Four weeks ago, the Make America Great Again firebrand and once Trump’s top ally in the House resigned from Congress a year before his term ended.
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned from Congress on January 5, 2026.
Under Georgia law, all candidates will appear on the same ballot. If no contender receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held on April 7 between the top two candidates.
The northwest Georgia district is solidly Republican, with Greene winning re-election in 2024 by nearly 30 points and Trump winning it by 37 points.
Primary Day for California’s 2026 elections is scheduled for June 2, which this year will also include a primary for the state’s 1st Congressional District special election to fill the seat left vacant after the recent unexpected death of Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa. The general election will be held on August 4.
The district is in northeastern California and is solidly Republican.
California Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa passed away on January 6, 2026.
Like Texas, California is changing its congressional map as part of a redistricting war, but special elections will be held under current district lines.
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The White House and congressional Republicans criticized Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision not to hold a special election to fill LaMalfa’s seat until August, six months after the late congressman’s death.
But Democrats also complained that Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott did not schedule a special election to fill Turner’s seat until eight months after Turner’s death.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Original source of the article: Democratic vote victory will further shrink House Republicans’ already fragile majority
