Democrat Christian Menefee, a former Harris County Attorney, won the special election runoff in Texas’ 18th Congressional District, ending a long vacancy and narrowing Speaker Mike Johnson’s razor-thin majority in the US House. Texas’ 18th Congressional District has been empty since March following former Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death — and 13 of the last 18 months in total. The first round of the special election to replace Greene takes place in March with a potential runoff to follow in April. There’s also an April special election for the New Jersey seat vacated by Democrat Mikie Sherrill after she was elected governor. The 18th District was made even more Democratic and absorbed much of the current 9th District, which became Republican-leaning.

Source: CNN February 01, 2026 08:07 UTC