HOUSTON (AP) — Voters in Houston are heading to the polls to elect a new mayor to lead the nation’s fourth largest city. They will choose from a crowded field that includes U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire. The two longtime Democratic lawmakers have dominated an open mayoral race that has drawn 17 candidates and one write-in candidate, and has been focused on issues of crime, crumbling infrastructure and potential budget shortfalls. Jackson Lee would be the city’s first Black female mayor. Whitmire has spent five decades in the Texas Legislature. If no candidate gets more than half of the vote on Tuesday, the top two will head to a runoff on Dec. 9.
