Toplines & Key Facts: 

• Houston Mayor and City Controller positions in runoffs 
• Important Dates to know:
  • Early Voting: Nov. 27- Dec. 5
  • Election Day: Dec. 9

Houston Runoff Election

The Nov. 7 Houston elections resulted in runoffs for both the Mayor’s and City Controller’s race. For the top position: John Whitmire took 42.5% of the votes at 107, 410 and Sheila Jackson Lee followed quickly behind at 90,093 votes amounting to 35.6% of the total vote count. Meanwhile, for the Controller’s role, Chris Hollins (45.2%) and Orlando Sanchez (27.0%) led the vote count reported by elections officials at 8 a.m. Wednesday. So, in both cases, no candidate garnered more than 50% of the vote, and now we have a Dec. 9 joint runoff election to decide the winners.

Early Voting started Nov. 27, and since then, Harris County opened 41 polling locations, resulting in 2,100 ballots cast on the first day. Normally, these elections are a low-turnout, but high-impact game. Those that show up have a larger chance of making a difference because the voting pool is usually smaller in these runoffs. Moreover, that decline in turnout can undermine the goal of picking winners, making it even more important to show up and vote.

However, chances are looking up this December; there was a 50 percent increase in early voting turnout for the Nov. 7 election compared to the 2015 mayoral elections. No matter what, it will be vital to get everyone in Houston out and voting by Dec. 9.

Endorsed Candidates

Back in November, we endorsed Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee for Mayor and Chris Hollins for City Controller:

“The race between her and John Whitmire is tight and newsworthy, but she’s our pick because of her longstanding dedication to Houston’s residents and her position on standing up to those in state government who want to overturn our elections and take over our schools. Her priorities are improving public safety, infrastructure, housing, helping working families thrive, reproductive and civil rights, and promoting small businesses.”

“Hollins pledges to build a safer Houston, and invest in its future. Actually, he already has. Back in 2020, he served as the county clerk during a critical election season where he fought for voting rights through innovations which included drive-thru voting, 24-hour voting, online mail ballot tracking, and tripling the number of early voting centers–[which] led to eye-popping record voter turnout despite the ongoing global pandemic. He has a proven record of expanding opportunity and access to voting rights, and we believe this extends to his policies on expanding educational and economic opportunities as well.”

Make sure to finish this year strong by electing progressive candidates in one of Texas’s largest cities, with Sheila Jackson Lee for Houston Mayor and Chris Hollins for Houston City Controller!

What’s Next

• Finish out Early Voting strong today, or get to the polls early on Election Day, Dec. 9.
• Make sure to carpool and bring friends, get those ballot counts up!
• Bring an ID and remember to vote for Jackson Lee and Hollins!
• Visit HarrisVotes.com for more information.