Hakeem Jeffries threatens lawsuit over delayed Texas special election [View all]

Source: NBC News

April 2, 2025, 3:44 PM EDT / Updated April 2, 2025, 6:42 PM EDT


House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is threatening a lawsuit against Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for holding off on calling a special election to fill a vacant House seat in Houston, which Democrats allege is a deliberate move designed to help pad the GOP’s razor-thin majority.

In a response to a question from NBC News on Wednesday, Jeffries said it’s “very likely” that they will pursue litigation against Abbott, who has yet to set a date for an election to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, after he died in early March. Asked if he thought Abbott was deliberately delaying the the special election in Texas' solidly Democratic 18th District, Jeffries said "yes."

Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary, said in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday: “An announcement on a special election will be made at a later date.” Christian Menefee, the Harris County attorney and Democrat who is planning to run for the seat, has also said he would sue Abbott if he didn’t call for 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 on X on Wednesday, 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.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/hakeem-jeffries-threatens-lawsuit-delayed-texas-special-election-rcna199362