Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas lost her mayoral race Saturday evening to Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire, according to the Associated Press.
Jackson Lee was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 and announced her run for Houston mayor in March, where she was endorsed by prominent democrats like Hillary Clinton, according to The New York Times. She ultimately suffered defeat this weekend after her campaign was plagued by audio leaks and a botched ad.
The congresswoman, who represents Texas’ 18th district, has been known for her harsh attitude toward staff, according to the NYT. In October, Jackson Lee was allegedly caught on audio calling some members of her staff “fuck ups” and questioning their intelligence.
“You took a piece of paper from that woman regarding something that was owned by Duncantell. Where is it? What date was it,” Jackson Lee allegedly asked a staffer in the audio. “I don’t want you to do a goddam thing. I want you to have a f—ing brain. I want you to have read it. I want you to say, ‘Congresswoman, with such and such date.’ That’s what I want. That’s the kind of staff that I want to have. So some stupid other motherfucker did it.”
In December, Jackson Lee’s campaign published an ad telling voters to go submit their ballots on Dec. 7 when election day was Dec. 9. The ad aired on Houston television channels, but the campaign later said it was working to fix the issue.
A University of Houston poll prior to the election revealed that over 40% of respondents said they would not even consider voting for her, whereas only 15% said the same for Whitmire, according to the NYT.
Jackson Lee was re-elected to office in 2022 by a near 45-point margin and was previously a municipal judge in Houston.
Jackson Lee’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Kate Anderson on December 9, 2023
