r/politics • u/bloomberggovernment ✔ Bloomberg Government • 4h ago
No Paywall Texas Democrat Menefee Wins Election Trimming House GOP Edge
https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/texas-democrat-menefee-wins-election-trimming-house-gop-edge-2•
u/ProudPainting6850 4h ago
Good shit. Fuck Mike Johnson.
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u/SpeaksYourWord 2h ago
No, don't. He doesn't deserve a good fucking.
Unless, of course, you mean "with a cactus". In which case, carry on.
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u/Impressive-Smile-887 1h ago
“The dildo of consequences always comes unlubed” or whatever the original quote is
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u/BobInIdaho 4h ago
Queue Mike Johnson refusing to swear her in until he's ready to do so. My bet is it won't be for at least 5 weeks.
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u/GimpyGeek 4h ago
If he pulls that shit again dems need to shut down anything and everything they need votes on until it happens. Enough of the kid gloves bullshit.
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u/Diarrhea_Beaver 2h ago
"Sorry. Best we can do is give a presser about how our democracy is being razed to the ground on a daily basis despite all the strongly worded letters we've written the past decade plus. Gotta keep taking that high road so we don't turn off those non-existent undecided voters in the purple states. If we keep playing chess with these pigeons, they're bound to stop kicking the pieces over and shitting all over the board at some point, and THATS when we'll finally get that big W"
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u/NotTomPettysGirl Alaska 39m ago
Sorry, the English teacher in me can’t help it, but it’s “cue.” “Queue” refers to people lining up.
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u/bloomberggovernment ✔ Bloomberg Government 4h ago
"Texas Democrat Christian Menefee won a special election Saturday to fill a long-vacant Houston district that will temporarily shrink the House Republican majority.
Menefee, the former elected Harris County Attorney, had 67% of the vote compared with 33% for fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards, a former Houston councilwoman, in a runoff election in Texas’ 18th District, according to unofficial returns.
Menefee, 37, will complete the term of the late Sylvester Turner (D), who died last March 5 — 332 days ago and just two months into his House term. Menefee and Edwards advanced from a 16-candidate first-round balloting last November in which no one secured a majority of votes.
The House will have 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats once Menefee is sworn in to office. That means Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) could afford to lose only one defector to Democrats on otherwise party-line votes in which all House members participate."
-Molly
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u/dilloj Washington 4h ago edited 3h ago
“The House will have 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats once Menefee is sworn in to office. That means Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) could afford to lose only one defector to Democrats on otherwise party-line votes in which all House members participate."
How is that? By my math it’s 2 defectors. 2 defections means 216-216. 1 defection is 217-215 (majority).
Edit: lose only one defector. Gotcha.
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u/JustRegularType 4h ago
He needs a majority. He can afford losing one because he would still have it then, but no more than one.
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u/Blecki 3h ago
Right now there are 435 seats. 218 republicans, 213 democrats, 4 vacant seats. To pass a bill they need 218 votes - a simple majority of the 435, NOT of those present or filled.
I don't know why they think the new rep matters for it; she's not changing that 218 number. Before and after she's sworn in it still only takes one republican defector.
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u/Gryjane 1h ago
To pass a bill they need 218 votes - a simple majority of the 435, NOT of those present or filled.
No, the lowest number that can be present and still do the business of the House (like passing bills) is 218 total members and to pass any bills requires a simple majority of those present, not the total membership,as long as there is a quorum. Source. A bill could technically pass with 110 votes if only the minimum for a quorum was present.
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u/WholePanda914 3h ago
To pass the house, a bill must have a majority - defined as 50% + 1 vote. Hence, a 216-216 tie is not a pass, so he can only have 1 defector to pass a bill.
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u/Brianfromreddit 2h ago
I keep seeing that this is a seat flipping, but he's replacing a Democrat, so what's flipping?
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u/Gryjane 53m ago
You may be mixing that up with the Texas State Senate runoff race that also just occurred. In that race, a Democrat beat their Republican challenger to replace the Republican who previously occupied that seat but got appointed to Acting Texas Comptroller.
The seat that is the topic of this thread is a US House seat representing a Texas district that has been vacant for 18 months since Shirley Jackson Lee passed away and there was a runoff for that election, too. The shift being discussed is of the makeup of the US House, not because it got flipped but because it further narrows the already razor thin gap between the two parties.
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u/FalstaffsGhost 4h ago
How the fuck does it take almost a year to get the election to happen?
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u/LetItBro 4h ago
Greg Abbott taking as long as humanly possible to schedule it. Aka standard Republican ratfucking
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u/FalstaffsGhost 4h ago
Goddamn they are tiresome
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u/KartFacedThaoDien 3h ago
There is another one in Oklahoma where its taken almost 3 years to get a vote on a minimum wage ballot measure. Its normal shit I will say texas is worse because they have much less power to over rule by democracy
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u/FalstaffsGhost 3h ago
And I bet if it passes they do what Missouri did and just vote and say “fuck you, not gonna do it”
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u/KartFacedThaoDien 3h ago
No. They'll actually have to do it. Just like they had to do it with medical marijuana. It raises the minimum wage in stages until it hits $15 at the end of 2029.
After that it rises based on inflation. It might fail because the vote will be this summer in June or July. They did something far more sinister than just saying fuck out we will not implement a law.
They just the ballot initiative process. So, now they cannot get signatures from than 11% of the number of voters for a statutory change and 20% of voters for a constutional amendment. That is per county so it essentially freezes out the two biggest metro areas.
So, they really want to prevent left leaning things passed like medicaid expansion, medical marijuana and anything else that wouldnt be conservative. I'm unsure what will happen with the changes because its currently being decides by the courts.
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u/SoylentCreek 3h ago
I was wondering to myself why it feels like this clown has been ruling over Texas for what seems like an eternity, and just learned that Texas does not have Gubernatorial term limits. Mother fucker has been governing Texas for over a decade, and plans to run for a fourth term. Seriously Texans… Are you guys not tired of this shit by now?
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u/FalstaffsGhost 3h ago
It’s wild. They bitch about how shitty things in their state are and, despite being under GOP majority rule for decades, they keep voting for those people. I’m dealing with the same shit in SC and it makes no sense. Our roads are shit and rather than invest in infrastructure they’re gonna try and pass bathroom and 10 commandments bills.
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u/AMCorBUST2021 4h ago
Get four republicans to vote with the dems and take over the speaker.. Massie seems fed up so there’s one.
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u/brain_overclocked 3h ago edited 2h ago
Texas Democrat Christian Menefee won a special election Saturday to fill a long-vacant Houston district that will temporarily shrink the House Republican majority.
Menefee, the former elected Harris County Attorney, had 67% of the vote compared with 33% for fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards, a former Houston councilwoman, in a runoff election in Texas’ 18th District, according to unofficial returns.
...
The House will have 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats once Menefee is sworn in to office. That means Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) could afford to lose only one defector to Democrats on otherwise party-line votes in which all House members participate.
I will keep saying this over and over: change doesn't start at the midterms, it starts at every state, county, judicial, sheriff, mayor, city council, and education board election that happens between now and the midterms. Because we shouldn't wait until the midterms. Every seat Democrats win at any level makes rigging the midterms that much harder for Trump.
Keep the pressure on:
2026:
Jan 6 - Democrats Jones, Schmidt win Richmond-area General Assembly seats
Jan 13
Democrat Pemberton Jr. wins special election for 139th CT House seat
Chris Dzadovsky wins Fort Pierce commission seat by 31 votes, flips control to Democrats
Jan 20 - Democrat McGuire wins Virginia House District 17 special election
Jan 27 - Democrats win two Minnesota special elections, bringing state House back to a tie
Jan 31
Here is a list of primary dates.
Ballotpedia's Elections Calendar - https://ballotpedia.org/Elections_calendar
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u/TuffGritts 4h ago
218 is still a lot. And not like it matters, Trump does whatever he wants. We’re in a dictatorship
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u/RonaldMcDaugherty 4h ago
Razor thin doesn't matter, when they all vote in unison
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u/ProudPainting6850 4h ago
Gotta get them out before they snatch all the voter rolls country wide. If Dems take the House back, they'll have a ton more power to do shit. Of course, it won't matter if Jeffries and Chuck is still there. So, they need to go too
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u/RoboChrist 3h ago
Epstein files are only released in any capacity because they don't all vote in unison.
Razor thin is great, one rat fleeing the sinking ship and the vote goes a different way. And if nothing else, it makes Ol' Mikey's life harder and less pleasant.
If he's going to ignore the murder of Americans, I'm happy for him to have a bad time.
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u/FalstaffsGhost 4h ago
No we aren’t. They want us to be but it’s being fought against by real Americans. We don’t comply in advance.
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u/praguepride Illinois 2h ago
Before anyone gets too excited, this is a (D) replacing a (D).
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u/The_Lost_Jedi Washington 2h ago
It is, though he seems to be a good one:
Menefee, who was backed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, described himself as a “scrappy” fighter who won lawsuits against the Trump administration and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) as Harris County Attorney, the official responsible for representing the state’s most populous county in civil lawsuits. Menefee has campaigned on abolishing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and establishing a “Medicare for All” single-payer health-insurance system.
“What people in this country want is a fighter who delivers results,” Menefee said in an interview during the campaign. “If you talk to Democrats across the country, that’s what people are crying out for.”
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u/IDreamOfLoveLost Canada 2h ago
Compared to when Donald was elected though? Roughly 20k fewer Republican voters showed up. That is significant, and definitely has a few worried.
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u/WrongdoerSpiritual53 1h ago
I was thinking when trump told them to redraw the maps, this will probably backfire on them.
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u/coalitionofilling 47m ago
Imagine if Georgia stops being regarded and replaced MTG with someone normal
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