Late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s daughter, Erica Lee Carter, announced Monday she is running in the special election for the U.S. House seat formerly held by her mother to finish the remainder of the late congresswoman’s term.
This comes after Jackson Lee, D-Texas, died last month at the age of 74 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. She had represented Texas’ 18th congressional district for 30 years.
Lee Carter said in a statement: “I want to finish for my mom!”
“Nearly two weeks after we laid my dear mother, the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee to rest, I am humbled to thank the entire Houston community for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support and appreciation for our entire family,” Lee Carter wrote. “As I witnessed my mother’s tremendous commitment to public service and legislative acumen firsthand, the countless stories and moments that I have heard since her passing have made her ‘larger than life’ presence even more so.”
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“The people of the 18th Congressional District, re-elected my mother to the 118th Congress to protect their interest and uphold our democratic values,” she continued. “Congresswoman Jackson Lee kept their interests in her heart and mind until the very end. Since then, so many community leaders and democratic stalwarts have requested that I consider completing her term this year by running in the November 5th Special Election. After careful consideration, the answer is YES.”
Jackson Lee also previously battled breast cancer, having been diagnosed in 2011, before announcing the following year she was cancer free.
Prior to her time in Congress, Jackson Lee served as a judge before she was elected to an at-large Houston City Council seat in 1989.
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Last year, Jackson Lee ran an unsuccessful campaign for Houston mayor, losing by a wide margin to then-state Sen. John Whitmire, also a Democrat, before announcing she would seek re-election in Congress.
“My Mom was the ultimate finisher,” Lee Carter wrote. “She would stay until the latest hour at her D.C. Congressional office, she supported community events late into the evening, made calls doing the ‘people’s business’ until the wee hours of the morning, closed every important meeting with an ask, solution, or next step and never took ‘No’ as a final answer.”
Lee Carter said she cared for her mother until her passing.
The winner of the special election, which will be held on Nov. 5, would only fill the seat for the remainder of the current term, which runs through Jan. 3.
A separate election, which will also be held on Nov. 5 for the general election, will be for the opportunity to hold the seat for the next Congress, which runs from Jan. 3, 2025 until Jan. 3, 2027. Harris County Democratic Party precinct chairs will meet on Tuesday to nominate a candidate in that race to run against Republican Lana Centonze in the district considered safe for Democrats.
Lee Carter said if the people of Texas’ 18th congressional district entrust her with their vote, then she wishes to complete the 118th session “in the way that [Jackson Lee] would have, by supporting justice, equality, healthcare, human rights and economic opportunity for all.”
“I call on all Harris County Democrats to unite to ensure that the people of the 118th Congressional District regain their vote on critical national issues,” Lee Carter said. “Together, we will finish for my Mom, The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee.”
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