Abbott Cheers for Cougars at Title Game
Despite Depriving UH of Congress Voice
CD 18 Election Date Punishes Constituents
Capitol Inside
April 8, 2025
Governor Greg Abbott pushed his loyalty to the Texas Longhorns to the side on Monday night when he emerged in downtown San Antonio to root for the University of Houston in the national championship basketball game that the Florida Gators won by two points in all-time thriller.
Abbott picked the Cougars to win the title in the bracket he filled out for the NCAA tournament last month. He pointed out in a social media post before the game that he'd been on hand when Houston came from way behind to beat Duke in the semi-finals at the Alamodome on Saturday. While Abbott didn't mention the curse that some Texans think U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has been for Texas teams in the biggest games, the governor sought to assure Cougar nation that he would be more of a lucky charm.
"And yes, I was here last game — so nothing but good luck here," the governor said on X. "Go Coogs."
But Abbott showed no concern about the fact that he would be leaving the University of Houston's main campus without representation in the U.S. House for the next seven months as a result of his decision earlier on Monday to set a special election for the Congressional District 18 seat in November.
While Abbott could have called for the special vote in CD 18 to be held in June, he said he'd decided to delay it as long as he could as retaliation for the way Harris County has handled elections in the past in a manner that he viewed as incompetent and suspicious. Abbott suggested that Harris County would need more time to prepare for a special election that won't be held until the same day as the general election this fall.
But Abbott has failed to acknowledge that nearly 800,000 of his constituents in the largest county that he was elected to represent will not have a voice in the lower house of Congress four months longer than they would have to go if he believed in treating all Texans fairly. The governor would be trying to punish his constituents in Houston for transgressions they did not commit if he was being sincere about Harris County election administration problems as the motive for the special CD 18 election timing.
The prevailing opinion in the Austin beltway - however - is that Abbott was attempting to curry favor with the GOP base with a move that will result in one less vote for Democrats in a U.S. House where that couldn't make a difference as long as the Republicans are united. The GOP has 220 seats compared to 213 for the Democrats with openings in CD 18 and a district that's blue in Arizona.
Decked in a bright red UH shirt for photos before the championship game with the school's Chancellor Renu Khator and board chairman Tilman Fertitta, Abbott may not have realized that the public university in Houston would be disenfranchised as well for several months as a consequence of the CD 18 election date.
But the physical address and mailing addresses for admissions for the University of Houston are both located in the congressional district that Democrat Sylvester Turner represented for two months before his death on March 5. The university and the residents of CD 18 were forced to go nearly three months in 2024 without representation after Sheila Jackson Lee died in office last summer.
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