Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s daughter seeks to finish mother’s term

Washington — The daughter of former Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died last month, announced 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’s received encouragement from members of the community to run to complete her mother’s term, which ends on Jan. 3, 2025. Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat who previously revealed that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, died on July 19 at 74. She represented the district for nearly three decades. 

“The people of the 18th Congressional District re-elected my mother to the 118th Congress to protect their interests and uphold our democratic values,” Lee Carter said. Congresswoman Jackson Lee kept their interests in her heart and mind until the very end.”

Though she hopes to serve 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 select who will hold the seat in the next Congress. Candidates have until Aug. 22 to file for the special election. 

Democratic leaders in the district are meeting Tuesday to select their nominee for the general election. 

Lee Carter said if voters give her the opportunity, she hopes to finish out 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 mom, the honorable Sheila Jackson Lee,” Lee Carter said. 

Nikole Killion contributed to this report.

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• Texas