Amanda Edwards, a former member of the Houston City Council, announced she bid for Congress Wednesday to fill the seats she left after the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), saying Democrats need a different approach “to respond at the moment.”
“The attack on President Trump's work, healthcare and education that the next generation of new leaders in Washington are needed to fight,” said Edwards, who will run for Texas' 18th Congressional District.[PresidentTrump'sattacksonjobshealthcareandeducation”EdwardswhowillrunforTexas's18thCongressionalDistrictsaidin[トランプ大統領の仕事、ヘルスケア、教育に対する攻撃」とテキサスの第18議会地区に立候補するエドワーズは述べた。[PresidentTrump’sattacksonjobshealthcareandeducation”EdwardswhowillrunforTexas’s18thCongressionalDistrictsaidinAnnouncement of her campaign.
The party should “assess where pressure is applied,” she said. “We must work effectively with our partner organizations to achieve our goals.”
She added that Rep. Al Greene's (D-Texas) protests in Trump's recent joint speech to Congress make sense and that Democrats should be more involved in similar actions.
“When Rep. Green stood up and said there was no order for Medicaid, it put a clear focus on the fact that Medicaid was in the chopping block,” she said.
“This sense of confusion has led people to be freed, meaning the administration can freely move forward with the agenda.”
When asked last week whether she agreed to the decision of Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), Edwards said Schumer “is in a difficult position in terms of that call” in support of a GOP-backed suspension bill that avoided government shutdown.
Schumer has a long legacy of strong service, she said, but the party needs to have a conversation about whether current leadership is “meeting in the moment.”
“We must allow new voices and new ideologies to emerge, especially when things change and when there is a president who doesn't respect the rule of law.”
Edwards further said that having conversations about the party's strategy and its message in Congress “doesn't mean you're kicking out anyone.”
“That means that as times change, our needs evolve. What we are responding to in the present moment is the questions we need to ask,” she said.
Edwards also said the way the administration is approaching the issue of immigration is “real harm to the American people.”
“If we can take seriously immigration reform, we're going to take a really different approach. It's not just about making sensational headlines and kicking out and expelling people who are hardworking and not hurting our country,” she said.
Edwards said immigration reform should be made from a policy perspective, and the impact of these “severe immigration policies” creates an environment of fear that prevents families from helping or accessing the resources they need.
“Many people are reluctant to engage in basic activities, such as going to school, because of fear that their families will be targeted,” she said. “Even if an individual is documented, the risks faced by parents and siblings can create ripple effects across the family.”
Edwards made two unsuccessful attempts to secure a seat last year, competing in the 2024 Democratic primary with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represented the district from 1995 until his death last year.
Jackson Lee won, but she died before the general election and resumed the party's nomination process. Edwards finished second in that contest to Turner, former mayor of Houston.
The seats are again vacant after Turner's death earlier this month. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has the authority to call special elections to fill the seats.
