Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Fends Off Primary Challenger After Losing Houston Mayor Race

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) speaks to reporters as she is joined by fellow House Democr
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Paul Bois

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) fended off her primary challenger, Amanda Edwards, during the Super Tuesday race despite her failed bid for Houston mayor.

NBC News first projected Jackson Lee as the winner on Tuesday night after she held a commanding lead over Amanda Edwards with just 41 percent of the votes reporting in.

NBC News is projecting that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Houston last year, will win the Democratic primary in the state’s 18th Congressional District.

She faced a challenge from former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, who also ran for mayor but dropped out and entered the congressional race once Jackson Lee announced her candidacy for mayor.

Jackson Lee has represented the district since 1995.

As CNN reported in lead-up to the race, Jackson Lee “lost a runoff for Houston mayor election in December and then decided to run for reelection.” She faced a tough uphill battle for reelection after only raising $225,000 by the end of the pre-primary reporting period while Edwards raised nearly $1.5 million.

Jackson Lee has also come under scrutiny for allegedly being one of the most difficult congressional bosses on Capitol Hill. As the Houston Chronicle reported in 2023, ex-staffers had “mixed feelings” about her managerial style:

A former congressional veteran quit her office after just 40 days, saying she was shocked by what she said was Jackson Lee’s emotionally bruising and unpredictable outbursts. A former chief of staff lasted for about five months and called the experience “nightmarish.”

And, last month, Jackson Lee was confronted with an alleged recording of her berating a former staffer in a profanity-laced rant, calling him and another staffer “two goddamn big-ass children, f—ing idiots,” who “serve no goddamn purpose.“ In a statement in response to the recording, which Jackson Lee never confirmed as authentic, she apologized for any pain its contents had caused.

“If there is a question about my potential leadership for the city of Houston, we merely need to go back to my service as a Houston city councilman. My rapport with city workers was without question,” she said at the time.

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.