Erica Shelwyn Lee Carter[2] (née Lee; born February 2, 1980) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 18th congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party from 2024 to 2025.
Erica Lee Carter | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 18th district | |
| In office November 12, 2024 – January 3, 2025[a] | |
| Preceded by | Sheila Jackson Lee |
| Succeeded by | Sylvester Turner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Erica Shelwyn Lee February 2, 1980 Harris County, Texas, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Roy Lee Carter Jr. (m. 2012) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
|
| Education | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA) Duke University (MPP) |
| |
The daughter of Sheila Jackson Lee, she worked as a teacher and quality coordinator before entering politics, serving on the Board of Trustees of the Harris County Department of Education from 2013 to 2019. In 2016, she ran to replace Borris Miles as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 146th district but lost when precinct chairs selected Shawn Thierry. After her mother's death in 2024, she initially endorsed Sylvester Turner to succeed Jackson Lee in both the special and general elections. However, she later announced her candidacy for the special election to finish her mother’s term, with Turner, who ran in the general election, withdrawing and endorsing her.
Early life and education
editErica Shelwyn Lee was born on February 2, 1980 in Harris County, Texas,[3] to Sheila Jackson Lee, a lawyer and politician, and Elwyn Lee, a law professor. Her brother is Jason Cornelius Bennett Lee. She graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree and later earned a Master of Public Policy from Duke University.[4]
Political career
editBefore running for office, she was a regional quality coordinator for a nonprofit public health organization[which?] and a teacher in the Houston Independent School District. She was on a team that helped prepare a $21 billion education budget for Eliot Spitzer when he was the governor of New York.[5] In 2011, Lee Carter filed to run for the first precinct of the Harris County Department of Education, explaining that her decision to run was partly inspired by her family's involvement in public service.[6] She went into a runoff with Jarvis Johnson, a former member of the Houston City Council, but thousands of voters were prevented from casting ballots due to a county error.[7] She won the Democratic Party primary runoff election, although Johnson planned legal action on behalf of the voters that were excluded by the error, and faced Juliette Bartlett-Pack in the general election, whom Lee Carter later defeated to become a trustee.[5][8]
In 2016, Lee Carter was a candidate to be a member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 146th district to replace Borris Miles, who had been selected to replace Rodney Ellis as a member of the Texas Senate from the 14th district.[9] However, she was defeated by Shawn Thierry when the precinct chairs voted for the replacement.[10] She later became a policy director for Ellis.[11]
U.S. House of Representatives
editOn July 19, 2024, Sheila Jackson Lee died, leaving her congressional seat vacant. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, announced that a special election to fill the seat would be held on Election Day.[12] Sylvester Turner, the former Mayor of Houston, had been chosen as the Democratic Party's nominee for the election, with Lee Carter and her brother both endorsing him.[13][14] However, Lee Carter later said she received encouragement from members of the community and community leaders to run for the election, and days after endorsing Turner she confirmed that she would be running to complete her mother's term in Congress, with Turner withdrawing from the special election and endorsing her.[15][16][17] Lee Carter won the seat on November 5, 2024, and was sworn in on November 12, 2024, representing the 18th district until January 3, 2025.[18][19] She was a member of the United States House Committee on the Judiciary in the 118th United States Congress.[20]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Erica Lee Carter | 146,413 | 67.94% | ||
| Republican | Maria Dunn | 47,835 | 22.20% | ||
| Republican | Kevin Dural | 21,257 | 9.86% | ||
| Total votes | 215,505 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Post-U.S. House of Representatives career
editLee Carter's successor Sylvester Turner died unexpectedly on March 5, 2025, and she was reported as a potential candidate for the special election.[22] She declined, instead announcing that she would endorse and serve as campaign manager for Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee.[23]
On July 7, 2025, Lee Carter announced her intention to run for county judge of Harris County if the incumbent judge, Lina Hidalgo, chose not to run for re-election.[24] Following Hidalgo's retirement announcement in September, Lee Carter stated she would not run.[25]
Personal life
editReferences
edit- ↑ "House Vacancies and Successors – 118th Congress (2023–2025)". Historian of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
- ↑ "Late-Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee's daughter considering run for her seat". Fox 26 Houston. August 9, 2024.
- ↑
- ↑ "Daughter of Sheila Jackson Lee considers running to finish her congressional term". Houston Defender. August 9, 2024.
- 1 2 Lee, Renée C. (October 12, 2012). "6 vying for three Harris County school board seats". Chron.
- ↑ Dunham, Richard (December 6, 2011). "The Jackson Lee political dynasty: Generation Two". Chron.
- ↑ Mellon, Ericka; Morris, Mike (July 17, 2012). "Boundary glitch throws county school board election in doubt". Chron.
- ↑ Morris, Mike (August 1, 2012). "Local races: Guthrie triumphant in GOP sheriff's race". Chron.
- ↑ Reynolds, John (August 5, 2016). "Political People and their Moves". The Texas Tribune.
- ↑ Hooks, Christopher (August 8, 2016). "How 13 People (Total) Elected Houston's Likely New State Rep". The Texas Observer.
- ↑ Lomax V, John (February 12, 2026). "Harris County commissioners tap Sheila Jackson Lee's daughter for county administrator position". Houston Chronicle.
- ↑ Motley, Dante (July 20, 2024). "After U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's death, Texas Democrats have to find a new candidate for November". The Texas Tribune.
- ↑ Cheng, Yilun (August 5, 2024). "Jackson Lee's children endorse former Mayor Turner in crowded battle to succeed her in Congress". Houston Chronicle.
- ↑ Sforza, Lauren (August 5, 2024). "Sheila Jackson Lee's children endorse Sylvester Turner for her House seat". The Hill.
- ↑ Hubbard, Kaia (August 13, 2024). "Daughter of late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee seeks to finish mother's term in Congress". CBS News.
- ↑ Downey, Renzo (August 23, 2024). "Sheila Jackson Lee's daughter files to finish out her mother's term". The Texas Tribune.
- ↑ Johnson, Daniel (August 13, 2024). "Erica Lee Carter, Daughter Of Sheila Jackson Lee, Will Run For Her Vacant Seat In Special Election". Black Enterprise. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ↑ "Erica Lee Carter will fill mother's seat until Jan. 2025". FOX 26 Houston. November 5, 2024.
- ↑ Terry, Christian (November 10, 2024). "'I am honored': Daughter of Sheila Jackson Lee to be sworn in Tuesday to finish mother's term in Congress". KPRC-TV.
- ↑ "H.Res.1585 - Electing a Member to a certain standing committee of the House of Representatives". congress.gov. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
- ↑ "U. S. Representative district 18 official results". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ↑ Taylor, Brittany (March 5, 2025). "What's next for 18th Congressional District after Sylvester Turner's passing?". KPRC-TV. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ↑ Bugenhagen, Faith (March 17, 2025). "Christian Menefee vies for Congress with Sheila Jackson Lee's daughter by his side". Chron. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
- ↑ Briggs, Shakari (July 7, 2025). "Erica Lee Carter announces plans to run for Harris County Judge if Hidalgo doesn't seek reelection". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
- ↑ Soebroto, Ashley (September 18, 2025). "Former Congresswoman Erica Lee Carter withdraws bid for Harris County judge despite hinting prior interest". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ↑ Hodge, Shelby (November 21, 2012). "Sheila Jackson Lee's daughter weds, Clarence Thomas revisits Tony's and acookbook success". CultureMap Houston.
- ↑ Brown, Stacy M. (June 3, 2024). "Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Faces The Battle Of Her Life After Cancer Diagnosis". Seattle Medium.