What happened
Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), a former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator, died Wednesday morning, hours after attending President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. Turner, 70, died from “enduring health complications,” his family said. He was elected in November and sworn in on Jan. 3 to fill the seat long held by fellow Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died from cancer last July.
Who said what
Turner was an unusually powerful Democrat during his 27 years in the “increasingly conservative Texas State Legislature,” known both for his “fiery, partisan speeches” and his “ability to work across the aisle,” The New York Times said. As Houston mayor from 2016 to 2024, he led America’s fourth-largest city through Hurricane Harvey and the Covid-19 pandemic, among other crises.
Though Turner was “newly elected to the Congress,” he had “spent decades fighting for the people of Houston,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. And he was a “fighter until the end.” Turner’s guest at Trump’s speech was a constituent who relies on Medicaid to manage her daughter’s rare genetic disorder, and Jeffries noted that his “final message,” posted on Instagram, was: “Don’t mess with Medicaid.”
Turner’s death “comes at a critical time in Congress,” where House Republicans “have few votes to spare as they look to advance Trump’s agenda,” The Texas Tribune said. With his “safely Democratic seat vacant, Republicans now control 218 seats to Democrats’ 214.”
What next?
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) can call a special election to replace Turner, “although there is no deadline for doing so,” Politico said. Abbott ordered flags flown at half-staff through Friday to honor Turner.