Washington — Daughter of former rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died last monthannounced late Monday that she intends to run to fill the Houston-area seat for the remainder of her mother’s term.
“I want to finish for my mom,” Erica Lee Carter said in a statement.
Lee Carter said she has received encouragement from community members to run to complete her mother’s term, which ends Jan. 3, 2025. Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat who previously disclosed that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, died on 19 July at 74. She represented the district for nearly three decades.
“The people of the 18th Congressional District reelected my mother to the 118th Congress to protect their interests and uphold our democratic values,” said Lee Carter. Congresswoman Jackson Lee kept their interests in her heart and mind until the end.”
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Although she hopes to serve out the remainder of Jackson Lee’s term, Lee Carter is not seeking a full term, having endorsed former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in that race earlier this month. The special election to fill Jackson Lee’s seat is set for Nov. 5, when voters in Texas’ 18th congressional district will also choose who will hold the seat in the next Congress. The candidates have until August 22 to register for the special election.
Democratic leaders in the district are meeting Tuesday to select their candidate for the general election.
Lee Carter said that if voters give her the opportunity, she hopes to end her mother’s term as she said Jackson Lee would have — “by supporting justice, equality, health care, human rights and economic opportunity for all.”
“Together we will finish for my mother, the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee,” said Lee Carter.
contributed to this report.