ABC News projects Houston’s Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee to win against former intern

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — What was seen as an unusually tight race for Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s seat was called just an hour after polls closed in the Houston area.

On Tuesday evening, ABC News projected that Jackson Lee would rebound from her mayoral loss and defeat former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards in the Democratic primary in Texas’s 18th District.

Jackson Lee has served Texas’ 18th Congressional District for nearly 30 years. Jackson Lee lost some momentum in her congressional campaign before she lost the Houston mayoral race last year to John Whitmire.

But after jumping back into her reelection bid, she’s managed to be the projected winner, according to ABC News, which would guarantee her another term in this deep-blue district.

Edwards is currently an attorney but formerly served on the city council. She also served as Jackson Lee’s own intern nearly 20 years ago.

When Eyewitness News asked Edwards about them going head to head in this race, she said this is something she certainly never imagined, but it’s how the cards fell.

Initially, Edwards was running for Houston mayor, but she stepped out of that race when Jackson Lee jumped in. From there, it was the idea that Edwards would fill Jackson Lee’s seat.

However, Jackson Lee announced that she would seek reelection to her district in December after losing the mayor’s race. Whitmire, a veteran Democratic state lawmaker, defeated her in an upset to become mayor of the nation’s fourth-largest city after Jackson Lee faced backlash over an unverified audio recording in which she purportedly berated staff members with a barrage of expletives.

By that point, Edwards had already gained momentum.

“I think that ability for people to really undergo a renaissance of sorts, new ideas, new solutions, new approaches, just, they’ve gotten really excited about it,” Edwards told ABC13.

Jackson Lee knows it’s a tight race, but when she was asked about it on Tuesday, she said she was nervous but also excited. She added that there are still a lot of issues to tackle, but her three main ones will be improving housing, healthcare, and economic factors for her constituents.

“This moment in history is a time for me to finish the job. It’s time for me to work on some very challenging moments in our country,” Jackson Lee said.

The winner will move on to the November election in a district that is heavily Democratic.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.