House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is threatening to file a lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott because he has not yet called for a special election to fill a vacant House seat.
The New York Democrat told NBC News it’s “very likely” his party takes legal action against the Republican governor, since no special election has been announced to fill the seat of the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died early last month.
Jeffries believes Abbott is delaying the special election to benefit House Republicans, who only have a slim majority.
Christian Menefee, the Harris County attorney and Democrat who plans to run for the seat, has also said he would sue Abbott if he didn’t call a special election soon.
“Nearly 800,000 Houstonians are without a voice in Congress. Abbott has called emergency elections before—he just doesn’t want to do it here,” Menefee posted Wednesday on X, accusing Abbott of trying to keep the seat open to benefit the Trump administration and House Republicans.
“Congress is voting on critical issues. TX-18 deserves a representative now—not months from now,” Menefee said.
And Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder echoed Jeffries' comments in a statement Wednesday.
“Our advice to Greg Abbott: Call an emergency election, or lawyer up,” Scudder said.
Texas law doesn’t appear to include a deadline to call a special election after a vacancy opens up. Special elections typically take place in already-scheduled elections in Texas, unless the governor deems it an emergency. And since the deadline to call for Turner’s special election to coincide with the coming May election in Texas has already passed, the next available election in the state isn’t until November. […]
Aside from how costly it would be to set the election before November, there may be another reason for Abbott’s delay: the House GOP’s math problems. While two more Republicans are set to join the House after they won a pair of Florida special elections Tuesday, there is still rampant concern about party's slim majority, especially as it tries to pass President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy agenda. (NBC News)
Congressman Sylvester Turner sadly passed away on Wednesday, March 5.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) March 25, 2025
His home-going service took place on Saturday, March 15.
Why hasn’t the Texas Governor called a special election to fill this vacant seat? pic.twitter.com/ID0xZO5djh
When asked about the special election, Abbott said he will call one "soon," but that he wants to ensure Harris County has "adequate time to operate a fair and accurate election."
"Harris County is a repeat failure as it concerns operating elections," he said. "Had I called that very quickly it could have led to a failure in that election just like Harris County has failed in other elections."
Tonight @JenSandersTV & @DanielMarinKXAN asked Gov. Abbott when he'll call a special election to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner in Houston.
— Will DuPree (@willdupreetv) April 3, 2025
He said he'd do that "soon," adding he's holding off because Harris County is a "repeat failure" in holding elections.@KXAN_News pic.twitter.com/gGBWvcnB9V
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