A crushing defeat in a mayoral election appears to be more of a pit stop than an actual stop for Sheila Jackson Lee’s political career.
The embattled Democratic congresswoman suffered a humbling loss in the Houston mayoral race over the weekend, and there wasn’t much positive news to glean from it, given how lopsided it was.
State Sen. John Whitmire claimed 65.3 percent of the vote to just 34.7 percent for Lee.
Despite the landslide victory being made official only early Sunday, Lee appears to have already pivoted to something with which she is intimately familiar: representing Texas’ 18th Congressional District, a Houston-area seat she first won back in 1994.
The Houston Chronicle reported that a campaign representative said she had “quietly” filled out re-election paperwork Sunday evening.
Lee then confirmed her re-election bid in a statement posted online.
“I thought about the many more gifts I have to give to my constituents of the 18th Congressional District,” she posted to X on Monday afternoon. “Those gifts involve more hard work and my ability to get the job done!”
I thought about the many more gifts I have to give to my constituents of the 18th Congressional District. Those gifts involve more hard work and my ability to get the job done! Together, let’s build on the progress we’ve achieved and work towards an even brighter future for all. pic.twitter.com/DNylOdgfmk
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@SJacksonLee) December 11, 2023
Lee had pulled out of the congressional race because of her mayoral aspirations, but with those dashed, she will now have to focus on a Democratic primary challenger in former Houston councilwoman Amanda Edwards — who once interned for Lee.
(In a further twist, Edwards pulled out of the very same mayoral race that Lee just lost so she could focus on the congressional seat left open by Lee.)
As the Chronicle noted, Lee has “cruised” to victory virtually every time she has been up for re-election since 1994.
She is likely banking on that bit of history repeating itself, as opposed to the more recent history.
The 73-year-old Democrat’s sudden pivot back to her congressional seat comes on the heels of her lopsided mayoral race loss to Whitmire.
That, in and of itself, would be a tough pill to swallow for a Democrat who is used to handily winning re-election, but the mayor-elect made sure to dig the knife just a bit deeper during his victory speech.
“People want to go to work for me because we respect people. We don’t bully people,” Whitmire said Saturday night. “My family taught me to treat people the way you want to be treated, and that works wherever you are, regardless of what community you’re visiting with.
“Treat these individuals like you want to be treated.”
That was a not-so-veiled reference to Lee’s alleged abusive behavior toward her staff.
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