Things are getting more interesting.
Erica Lee Carter
As Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo waits to announce her plans on seeking reelection, former Congressman Erica Lee Carter announced Monday she may run for the seat.
“I want to make it clear, if Judge Lina Hidalgo chooses not to run for re-election, I, Erica Lee Carter, will be running for Harris County Judge,” she wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “This community means everything to me and I’m ready to step up and lead on the issues that matter most to Harris County.”
Lee Carter, the daughter of former Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, entered the political arena following her mother’s passing last year.
The 74-year-old served in Congress for decades, representing the 18th Congressional District. Lee Carter finished out her mother’s term after winning against her opponent with nearly 70% of the votes. She served for two months.
“As a progressive voice, Democrat and dedicated public servant, I remain committed to providing the kind of forward-looking leadership that addresses the real needs of all Harris County residents,” she said in a statement. “I thank the community leaders and supporters who have encouraged me to consider serving our county.”
See here for some background, and here for a copy of her announcement. I would quibble with the statement that she “entered the political arena following her mother’s passing last year”, since she was elected to the HCDE Board of Trustees in 2012. She served one term and hadn’t been particularly visible since then, until her candidacy in the special election to fill out her mother’s term, but she did so as a previously-elected official. This all puts her a little behind Annise Parker on the fundraising front, but I expect that she will be able to keep up. Assuming she does get in the race, which as you know I would expect given my belief that Judge Hidalgo will not be running.
I mentioned back when the first leak about CM Letitia Plummer’s possible intentions to run came out that I was aware of “another prominent person who was supposedly thinking about running for Judge in the Dem primary”. I will now confirm that it was Erica Lee Carter whose name had been bandied about. Good to know the ol’ rumor mill still works. As for CM Plummer and her poorly kept secret, I got an email in the box yesterday from her campaign email address saying she “will be making a major announcement about her political future” on July 8, which is to say today. You never know until you know, but I think we all know what she will be announcing. (Whether Erica Lee Carter, who has no resign to run considerations to ponder, jumped in with her announcement because of that, I couldn’t say.) And that will mean another special election this November. I’ll have more on that tomorrow.