Democrats Win Texas Special Election, Narrow House Gap with Republicans to Four Seats

Democrat Wins State Senate Special Election
by Over 14 Points in Trump Stronghold

The U.S. Democratic Party has closed the gap with the Republican Party in the House of Representatives by winning a special election in Texas.

According to the Associated Press on February 1 (local time), Democratic candidate Christian Menefee was elected in the special election for Texas's 18th congressional district held the previous day.

Democratic candidate Christian Menefee elected as U.S. Representative for Texas. Photo by AP Yonhap News

The 18th district is a Democratic stronghold and had been vacant for nearly a year after former Democratic Representative Sylvester Turner passed away in March last year. Menefee won the runoff election against another Democratic candidate, Amanda Edwards.

Menefee will serve as a member of the House of Representatives for the remainder of Turner's term, which lasts until January next year. During his campaign, he pledged to support universal healthcare and to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who is leading the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies.

As a result of this special election, the Democratic Party has gained one additional seat in the House of Representatives. Out of a total of 435 seats, the House currently consists of 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats, with four seats vacant including Texas's 18th district. Once Menefee is sworn in, the gap between the Republican and Democratic parties will narrow from five seats to four.

The Republican Party, with its majority status weakened, now faces the challenge of preventing defections among its members in order to maintain control.

This special election was held nearly a year after former Representative Turner’s death. The Democratic Party criticized Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, for delaying the election to maintain the Republican majority in the House for as long as possible. Governor Abbott attributed the delay to a lack of preparedness among local governments.

Meanwhile, on the same day, in a special election for the Texas State Senate, Democratic candidate Taylor Lemmet won against the Republican candidate by more than 14 percentage points.

Texas is controlled by the Republican Party at both the state government and legislative levels. The district where Lemmet won is a Republican stronghold, where President Donald Trump secured victory by a margin of 17 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.

Dan Patrick, the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Texas, described Lemmet’s victory as “a wake-up call for Republicans across Texas.”

With President Trump's approval ratings low, the Democratic Party’s strong performance in special elections last year and this year has fueled speculation that the Republican Party could lose in the upcoming midterm elections in November.

The previous day, President Trump urged support for the Republican candidate on social media. However, on this day, he told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, “I am not involved in that. That’s a local Texas election,” distancing himself from the defeat.