The Houston-centered congressional seat has been vacant for the past 332 days, since the death of U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner.

The two candidates are competing to fill Houston’s long-vacant congressional seat.

The challenge for Christian Menefee will be balancing the immediate demands of governing with the realities of a campaign for CD-18 that never stopped.

A January poll from Lake Research Partners suggests that if Menefee, the top vote-getter out of 16 candidates in a November 2025 special election, wins the runoff and becomes a sitting Congressman, he will likely go on to secure victory against longtime U.S. Rep. Al Green in the March primary.

Amanda Edwards and Christian Menefee, the two Democratic candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ 18th Congressional District, debated Thursday at the Hilton University of Houston.

A state-level Democratic win in a region that had voted decisively for President Trump threatens to diminish Republicans’ hopes for the midterm elections.

Christian Menefee was elected Saturday to fill the unexpired term of the late Sylvester Turner in Texas' 18th Congressional District.