Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) must decide what she wants to do after her failed bid to become Houston’s next mayor. Lee didn’t just lose by a few thousand votes—she was totally obliterated in the runoff. No candidate won a majority of the vote on November 7, so the two biggest vote-getters, Lee and Democratic State Sen. John Whitmire, were slated for a final showdown, which occurred on December 9. Whitmire clinched 64 percent of the vote. He was also the law and order candidate. Lee now has to choose whether she wants to retire or run for another term in the House of Representatives, though that deadline is looming (via Politico):
Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire defeated Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the Houston mayoral race in Saturday’s runoff election after a campaign heavily focused on voter concerns over safety on the streets.
Whitmire, a perennial tough-on-crime voice who for decades heralded Texas regulations over public safety, was declared the winner by the Associated Press with 57 percent reporting. At that point, Whitmire was leading by an almost 2-to-1 margin.
With backing from the city’s fire department and police unions and a multimillion-dollar campaign war chest, Whitmire was the early favorite in the race and finished first in the 18-candidate general election in November. When no candidate secured 50 percent of the vote, the race went to a runoff.
Whitmire leaned on a coalition of moderate Democrats, independents and conservative voters, with a prominent campaign promise to make the city safer with increased policing.
[...]
The showdown between Whitmire and Jackson Lee illuminates the fault lines within the Democratic Party over how to deal with crime on a local level, also seen in mayoral races in Los Angeles and New York City in recent years. Crime has “really become a major issue — not only reality, but the perception. We cannot have Houston perceived as not being a safe city,” Whitmire previously told POLITICO. “I’m representing Houstonians. That’s what they want.”
[…]
…even with big-name Democrats behind her, Jackson Lee ultimately couldn’t make up her deficit.
Her campaign became mired in scandal after an expletive-filled rant, allegedly of Jackson Lee berating staffers, leaked online in October, for which she expressed regret in a statement.
If Jackson Lee intends to run for another House term, she doesn’t have long to declare her intentions: The filing deadline is Monday evening.
Well, she filed the paperwork to run for Congress again hours before the deadline, so, tragically, we’re going to have to deal with this left-wing blowhard for another term. Mayor-elect Whitmire said that his mayoralty won’t “bully” people in what some are calling a parting shot at Ms. Lee.
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