Amanda K. Edwards is one of several Democratic candidates running in a special election to represent Texas’ 18th Congressional District—an iconic, historically Black district that spans downtown Houston and beyond. The seat was left vacant after the January 2025 death of former Houston mayor and Congressman Sylvester Turner, who had succeeded the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee after her passing in 2024.
With more than 800,000 residents of TX-18 left without representation in Congress, a November 4 special election will decide who fills the powerful post. Edwards, a Houston native, attorney, nonprofit founder and former city council member, says this moment is bigger than politics—it’s about protecting the future.
“We are in a fight of a lifetime,” Edwards tells ESSENCE, pointing to policy rollbacks under President Donald Trump’s administration. She cites federal decisions that could raise prescription drug prices, cut Pell Grant funding, hurt small businesses and impact families across the country. “Everyone is being impacted adversely by the Trump administration’s tariffs and other efforts to undermine our American economy.”
Edwards, a Democrat, is one of at least nine candidates who have declared their candidacy, including Christian Menefee, the former Harris County attorney; Isaiah Martin, a former senior advisor to Jackson Lee; and James Joseph, who previously served as director of civic engagement for State Senator Borris Miles.
According to Houston Public Media, Edwards and Menefee are widely seen as the frontrunners, each having raised close to $400,000.
She also notes that Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to finally call the special election came after public pressure to ensure residents were no longer left voiceless in Washington. And for Edwards, the legacy of TX-18—once represented by civil rights trailblazer Barbara Jordan, anti-poverty advocate Mickey Leland and longtime Congresswoman Jackson Lee—is too important to leave behind.
“They need a federal advocate to provide funding support,” she says. “They need a federal advocate to voice their concerns. They need a federal advocate to be their policymaker, and they’re gone without this.”
At the core of Edwards’ platform are three major issues: healthcare, economic opportunity and education. Her passion for healthcare reform is rooted in her own childhood. She remembers watching her father battle multiple myeloma when she was just 10 years old.
“I remember asking my dad a lot of questions during that time, like whether or not his life-saving care was going to be covered by this insurance stuff I was learning about,” she says.
Today, that same concern fuels her fight for stronger Black maternal health protections and support for the Momnibus Act,a suite of federal bills that would expand maternal care and address racial disparities in health outcomes. Economic equity is another key pillar. As a city council member, she often challenged the idea that representation alone was enough.
“What good is it to be the most diverse if we’re not solving the challenges that our diverse communities face—that’s the point of equity, right?”
To that end, she’s advocating for greater federal investment in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which tend to lend more frequently to Black-owned and women-owned businesses.
“They lend at much greater rates to businesses of color, to women-owned businesses that are, in fact, by maybe larger banks considered to be higher risk,” Edwards explains.
Education, she says, is both deeply personal and nationally urgent. A graduate of Houston’s public school system, Edwards went on to earn degrees from Emory University and Harvard Law School. But she’s alarmed by nationwide efforts to censor what students can learn.
“We are watching all over the country, our students’ books being taken away and what they read being politicized,” she says. Without access to truthful history, she warns, “people don’t have the information, and therefore history can repeat itself.”
She also critiques Trump-era education cuts and the broader lack of investment in students. “There is a big federal funding component to education that is getting left outta this conversation.”
Despite a polarized political landscape and the uphill battles often faced by Black women candidates, Edwards says she’s unfazed. She’s driven by purpose—and a belief that change is still possible through focused, strategic leadership.
“I have spent my whole career making the best out of challenging circumstances,” she says. “You find your ways to get things done because they need to get done.”
She’s also candid about the persistent barriers she faces. “I go into rooms each and every single day, and I’m underestimated because of my gender. I’m underestimated because of my race; I’m underestimated because of my age. You cannot allow other people’s limited perspective of you to become your own perspective of yourself.”
When asked how the Democratic Party can better support Black women, Edwards doesn’t hesitate: “Empowered women empower women. We are smart, we are bold, we are courageous but we also need to re-engage.”
And if the party fails to do the real work of building trust and listening, she warns, it risks another political misstep. “If you don’t do that real work, guess what? You are gonna have a math problem again. And you know, that’s what politics and elections are – math,” she adds.
She believes the path forward lies in embracing younger leadership, closing fundraising gaps, and intentionally bringing underrepresented voters and candidates into the fold.
“You see the disparities with fundraising for Black women candidates. You see the disparities with regard to feeling as though they’re not asked to run.”
Despite those challenges, Edwards says she is unwavering in her mission.”I believe it’s my purpose to use those blessings and opportunities I’ve been afforded to benefit other people and improve the community,” she says. “I want the people to tell you what my work has meant to their lives, because that’s what this work is all about for me.”
With the November election on the horizon, Amanda K. Edwards is urging voters to stay engaged.
“Show up. Speak out. Stay involved,” she says. “Our future depends on it.”