Democratic Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is tricking voters into electing her as Houston’s mayor by urging supporters to vote on the wrong day.
Jackson Lee, who is running in the runoff election to replace Mayor Sylvester Turner, aired an advertisement telling voters to head to the polls “on or before Dec. 7th.” The actual voting date, however, was on Dec. 9.
“Houston, I’ve spent my entire career fighting for you from fighting to keep our kids safe from guns when I was on city council, to my days in Congress fighting to protect women’s reproductive freedom and for funding for our police, schools and small businesses,” she said in the video.
“Now, I’m running to be your mayor, because if we’re going to bring down crime, fix our streets and bring good paying jobs here, then Houston needs a champion who’s ready to fight for what’s right. And I am,” she continued in the video, which included a graphic of the incorrect date of the election.
There were sixteen contenders in the first race, which has since narrowed down to Jackson Lee and her opponent, Democratic State Sen. John Whitmire, who held an early lead. In a race centered on crime, infrastructure, and possible fiscal deficits, the two candidates easily defeated rivals, as per the Associated Press.
According to the Texas Tribune, additional contenders were former Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, Houston City Council Member Robert Gallegos, former Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority Chair Gilbert Garcia, and former City Council Member Amanda Edwards.
Jackson Lee has been representing Texas’s 18th District since she assumed office in 1995. She announced in March that she was running for mayor in an already crowded field. She said to the people of Houston that she has served them for 28 years and “wants to come home” to be mayor.
“I hope I’ve been a humble servant for you for 28 years, many of you are in my district. Sheila Jackson Lee wants to come home to be your mayor for the city of Houston,” she said at the time. “I will not be able to do it without each and every one of you.”
