Houston has chosen a fresh mayor, dealing a significant setback to establishment Democrats as their nominee, Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), suffered a decisive defeat. Lee has been under scrutiny for her handling of staff matters. Despite receiving support from Hillary Clinton and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), their endorsements proved insufficient to salvage her electoral bid.
On December 9th, Houston residents participated in a run-off election to select the city’s mayor. The initial election in November featured a competitive field of 18 candidates and failed to yield a definitive winner. State Senator John Whitmire (D) emerged as the leading candidate with 43% of the vote, while Representative Sheila Jackson Lee secured 36%. The subsequent run-off pitted these two candidates against each other.
Despite garnering endorsements from Clinton and Pelosi and making an impassioned appeal for votes by emphasizing the importance of democratic values, Jackson Lee was unsuccessful in the run-off. The election results revealed a decisive outcome, with Whitmire securing a landslide victory at 64.4%, while Jackson Lee, the establishment candidate, only managed 35.6%.
Jackson Lee may have been negatively impacted by leaked audio where she was heard verbally berating campaign staff, using offensive language such as “fat ass stupid idiots” and referring to them as “stupid motherf**kers” who “serve no goddamn purpose.”
On the flip side, the celebration for Whitmire’s triumph was restrained. On social media, one user labeled him as “the lesser of two evils,” and another, while acknowledging him as a Democrat, expressed the sentiment that he’s preferable to Sheila Jackson Lee. Meanwhile, Lee has submitted her candidacy for re-election to her House seat, yet she encounters competition from a fellow Democrat in that race as well.
