WASHINGTON — Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is on a glide path to be the next congressman from Houston, after Harris County Democrats selected him Tuesday to be the Democratic candidate for the seat vacated by the late U.S. Rep.
Sheila Jackson Lee. A committee of 88 party officials in the 18th district were invited to vote at a Tuesday night meeting for the next Democratic candidate. Turner won by a slim margin, securing 41 votes.
Former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards came in second with 37. The district is heavily Democratic, and Turner is favored to win the general election in November. The Harris Democratic Party selected the candidate because Jackson Lee died too close to the general election to hold another primary.
Jackson Lee died last month amid a battle with pancreatic cancer. She had won the Democratic primary for the seat in March against Edwards. Edwards put her name back in the ring for the party’s nomination after Jackson Lee’s death.
Robert Slater, a restaurateur, also expressed interest in the party’s nomination after losing the Democratic primary earlier this year. Slater trailed far behind Edwards and Jackson Lee with only 2.7% of the vote in the primary.
Jackson Lee secured 60% while Edwards got 37.3%. Turner and Edwards each failed to secure a majority of the votes in the first round of voting Tuesday, putting the two in a runoff, which took place immediately after the first round.
Turner initially secured 35 votes, and Edwards s.