Christian Menefee threatens lawsuit if Abbott delays Texas District 18 election

HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports that Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee announced on Monday that he will file a lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott if he fails to set an election date for Texas’ 18th Congressional District. Menefee called the governor out during a press conference, urging the governor to set the special election for June to fill the congressional seat left vacated after the late Houston mayor and Congressman Sylvester Turner’s death. Per Texas law, Abbott has the sole authority to call a special election. He has done this in the past, most recently when the seat was left vacant after the death of late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee last July. “The governor knows this, and in fact, in the four instances where a seat has become vacant since he’s become governor, he’s gotten to it straight away, sometimes in 16 days, sometimes in 18 days, and once in four days,” Menefee said. “He knows how important it is that people have representation in Congress.”