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

HOUSTON (AP) — The daughter of the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died last month after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, will seek to finish her mother’s term in office.

Erica Lee Carter submitted paperwork by Thursday’s deadline to be a candidate in a special election in which voters will choose who will complete Jackson Lee’s two-year term representing the Houston congressional district. Carter, like her mother, is running as a Democrat.

Paperwork filed with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office shows that besides Carter, two Republican candidates are also vying to finish out Jackson Lee’s term. The district is solidly Democratic.

The special election is set for Nov. 5, the same day voters will also decide who will succeed Jackson Lee and serve the district for the next two years. Earlier this month, former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was chosen by local Democratic precinct chairs as the party’s nominee. Jackson Lee had already won the Democratic nomination for what would have been a 16th term before her death on July 19.

If Carter wins the special election, she would serve until the next Congress begins its work in January.

“I will fight with her passion and ferocity for the people of the 18th to regain their representation in the fight for justice, equality, healthcare, human rights and economic opportunity for all. We will do this, together!” Carter said in a statement this month announcing her candidacy.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Bill Clinton were among those who paid tribute to Jackson Lee at her funeral earlier this month. She was 74.

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