HOUSTON (AP) — Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott is blaming a history of election problems in the state’s most populous county for his delay in calling for a special election to fill the seat of Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died a month ago.
But Teneshia Hudspeth, the chief elections officer in Harris County where Turner’s congressional district is located, pushed back on Abbott’s criticism, saying the county is “fully prepared” to hold the election for the congressman’s replacement.
Democrats have accused Abbott of delaying the election to help Republicans maintain their razor-thin margins in the U.S. House. One candidate vying for the open seat, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, along with Democratic U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have threatened to sue Abbott over the delay.
Turner, a former Houston mayor, died March 5, just weeks into his first term in Congress. His district includes parts of Houston and Harris County and has nearly 800,000 residents.
Abbott has the sole authority to call for a special election. Abbott’s office had previously only said an announcement on a special election would be made at a later date.
But during an interview on Thursday with KXAN in Austin, Abbott cited elections problems in Harris County for the delay. Elections have been scrutinized for several years in Harris County — which has nearly 5 million residents, most of whom are Latino or Black. Problems have included long lines, poll worker and ballot shortages and ballots that were not counted the day of the election.
In 2023, Abbott signed a bill that removed Harris County’s elections administrator and transferred the responsibility to other local officials, including Hudspeth.
“Harris County is a repeat failure as it concerns operating elections. Had I called that very quickly, it could have led to a failure in that election, just like Harris County has failed in other elections. They need to have adequate time to operate a fair and accurate election, not a crazy election like what they’ve conducted in the past,” Abbott told KXAN.
Abbott did not give a date for the special election, saying he would be “announcing that sometime soon.”
In a statement on Friday, Hudspeth said since the state returned election administration duties to her office, “my office has successfully conducted eight elections.”
In a post on X, Menefee called Abbott’s comments “nonsense.”
“Governor, call the election. You’ve had a month. No more excuses,” Menefee said.
___
Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at juanlozano70
Juan A. Lozano, The Associated Press
