2023 Houston Mayoral Election

[Real Texan Politics]

Should've made this a long time ago when Sheila Jackson Lee announced her bid, but here we are.

As some of you probably know, incumbent Houston mayor Sylvester Turner is term-limited. Some notable candidates running to replace him include the previously mentioned U.S. Rep Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), John Whitmire (state senator and brother-in-law of former Houston mayor Kathy Whitmire), Amanda Edwards (former city councilor and 2020 senate candidate), and Lee Kaplan (attorney), all of whom are democrats.

John Whitmire, despite being a democrat, has racked up quite a few republican endorsements, including one from Houston folk hero Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale. If the election ends up being between SJL and Whitmire, I could see this being similar to Chicago's mayoral election from this year, or the Los Angeles mayoral election from last year.

So what are we thinking here? Is Sheila Jackson Lee likely to become Houston's next mayor? Or will the crossover support and notable family name be enough to get Whitmire over the top?

[Real Texan Politics]

It’s still Whitmire’s race to lose at this rate, Sheila Jackson Lee while formidable, I think she gets clobbered by him.

He doesn't really have a base of support.

He's courting GOP voters, who will likely have their own candidate to vote for. His best hope is a republican not running.

Forgot to mention in the intro post, but Tony Buzbee (Sylvester Turner's 2019 opponent) is planning on running again this year. While technically not a republican, he was basically the *de facto* republican candidate.

[Real Texan Politics]

https://twitter.com/texastribune/status/1734283124471742583?s=46&t=-r8JGlJno...

The favorite in the race, Gen-Z Activist Isaiah Martin (who was running like a cross between Richie Torres and Max Frost) dropped out and endorsed SJL.

Martin is one of the most cringe-inducing, token 'Gen-Z Activists' out there, good riddance. Here's hoping this gives other, more credible, voices time to establish themselves for SJL's departure cause he would be Frost but 10x worse.

He's also the best friend of activist Olivia Julianna, so he would've basically been her protege until she's old enough to run for office herself.