2023 Houston Mayoral Election

[NewYorkExpress]

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3920408-rep-sheila-jackson-lee-running-for-houston-mayor/

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) revealed on Sunday that she is running for mayor of Houston, entering an already crowded field in the Lone Star State.

Jackson Lee — who has represented Texas’s 18th Congressional District since 1995 — made the announcement at City Cathedral Church in Houston.

.....



The congresswoman is entering a crowded field, with sitting Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) being term-limited. State Sen. John Whitmire (D), former Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins (D), House City Council Member Robert Gallegos, former Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Chairman Gilbert Garcia and former City Council Member Amanda Edwards are all running, according to The Texas Tribune.

[Farmlands]

Un-endorsed for various reasons, mainly her treatment of her subordinates and others in a lower standing than her.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/PatrickSvitek/status/1640448502156107789

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

Hey at least she won't be in congress anymore!

[Horus]

Apparently Sheila Jackson Lee is mean.

https://www.chron.com/politics/article/Washingtonian-gives-Rep-Sheila-Jackson-Lee-5812890.php

[brucejoel99]

Apparently Sheila Jackson Lee is mean.

https://www.chron.com/politics/article/Washingtonian-gives-Rep-Sheila-Jackson-Lee-5812890.php

Sheila Jackson Lee is Amy & Katie Porter on steroids in the workplace, but in terms of policy impact, she's certainly no John Whitmire, whose record deserves no less than Guantanamo Bay.

[Arizona Iced Tea]

If Brandon Johnson could win, then Shelia Jackson Lee will probably be the next mayor of Houston.

[Roll Roons]

Apparently Sheila Jackson Lee is mean.

https://www.chron.com/politics/article/Washingtonian-gives-Rep-Sheila-Jackson-Lee-5812890.php

Sheila Jackson Lee being one of the worst bosses in Congress has been known for many years now.

[MargieCat]

I think Sheila Jackson Lee can defeat a republican.

If it's her vs. Whitmire, she will have a more difficult time.

Apparently, Buzbee is considering getting in. He says he thinks he is the only one that can defeat SJL. When in actuality, he would help her win.

I expect that she would consolidate that Black vote. Whitmire is hoping to win the conservative white vote, like Rick Caruso and Paul Vallas. He's been endorsed by Tilman Fertitta, Dan Huberty, Greg Travis, Mattress Mac, the Houston Police Officer's Union, as well as some mainstream Democrats.

I see most party-line republicans having a difficult time voting for a Democrat. I find it hard to believe that the Harris County GOP will endorse Whitmire. I think they run their own person and hand it to SJL.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

I think Sheila Jackson Lee can defeat a republican.

If it's her vs. Whitmire, she will have a more difficult time.

Apparently, Buzbee is considering getting in. He says he thinks he is the only one that can defeat SJL. When in actuality, he would help her win.

I expect that she would consolidate that Black vote. Whitmire is hoping to win the conservative white vote, like Rick Caruso and Paul Vallas. He's been endorsed by Tilman Fertitta, Dan Huberty, Greg Travis, Mattress Mac, the Houston Police Officer's Union, as well as some mainstream Democrats.

I see most party-line republicans having a difficult time voting for a Democrat. I find it hard to believe that the Harris County GOP will endorse Whitmire. I think they run their own person and hand it to SJL.

Despite persistent rumors, I will not, at this time any way, be entering the Houston mayoral race. 

[MargieCat]

Hollins is out.

I wonder if Amanda Edwards drops out next.
https://twitter.com/HoustonChron/status/1644093892818608130?s=20

[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?

[MargieCat]

I think it depends who gets into the top two.

I see Sheila Jackson Lee getting to the runoff.

The question is whether an actual Republican gets in and consolidates conservative support.

I see it being a tossup if it's SJL vs. Whitmire.

If it's a SJL vs. Republican, then she is favored to win easily.

I can't predict how repubilcan voters will behave if it's a Dem vs. Dem matchup. I would suspect they choose Whitmire, but they might just not vote. I find it unlikely that the Harris County GOP sits this one out, even though it seems like some prominent republicans are supporting Whitmire.

[MargieCat]

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.

[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.

[NewYorkExpress]

Sheila Jackson Lee picks up a huge endorsement from Lina Hidalgo.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is endorsing U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in her race to become Houston's next mayor. Hidalgo is scheduled to officially announce how she will be supporting the congresswoman's campaign at the Mickey Leland Statue inside Mickey Leland Memorial Park at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to a press release from Hidalgo's office. She will also be joined by Jackson Lee and her supporters in the community.

Hard to see how Jackson Lee isn't the favorite now.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

This is really a shame b/c Sheila Jackson Lee is a horrible, horrible person who is unfit to hold any sort of public office.  Not only have there been many accounts of her abusive treatment of her staff (there’s a reason she consistently has one of the highest staff turnover rates in Congress), but she fired a staffer in direct retaliation against said staffer for taking legal action against a supervisor who had raped her [the staffer].

[NewYorkExpress]

Amanda Edwards is out, will endorse Jackson Lee.

Former Houston City Councilmember Amanda Edwards is dropping out of the mayor's race and running for Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee's seat in Texas' 18th Congressional District. Edwards also announced she's throwing her support in the mayor's race behind Jackson Lee.

[CelestialAlchemy]

This isn't quite a done deal, but I do think Sheila Jackson Lee is favored with only Whitmire against her.

[NewYorkExpress]

EMILY's List endorses Sheila Jackson Lee.

[NewYorkExpress]

We have a poll!

https://www.uh.edu/hobby/houston2023/

Mayor

John Whitmire 34%
Sheila Jackson Lee 32%
Gilbert Garcia 3%
Lee Kaplan 2%
Robert Gallegos 2%
MJ Khan 2%
Derrick Broze 1%
Robin Williams 1%
Six Others: Total of 1%
Don't Know 22%

Mayor-Runoff

John Whitmire 51%
Sheila Jackson Lee 33%
Don't Know 13%
Would Not Vote 3%

[PSOL]

Well this is embarrassing

[Fuzzy Bear]

This is really a shame b/c Sheila Jackson Lee is a horrible, horrible person who is unfit to hold any sort of public office.  Not only have there been many accounts of her abusive treatment of her staff (there’s a reason she consistently has one of the highest staff turnover rates in Congress), but she fired a staffer in direct retaliation against said staffer for taking legal action against a supervisor who had raped her [the staffer].

EMILY's List endorses Sheila Jackson Lee.

EMILY's List has no shame, and no idea of how incongruent they appear. 

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

I guess people don’t want a mayor whose 73

[MargieCat]

I guess people don’t want a mayor whose 73

Both Sheila Jackson Lee and John Whitmire are 73.

He's older than her by a couple of months.