Republican voters may decide the mayoral race in Democratic Houston

Leonard Wickers, a 73-year-old carpenter, took a break from building a new home in South Houston to vote in early voting for the city’s mayoral election this week.

Like most at the polling place in a largely black district, Mr. Wickers, who is black, said he was supporting Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, a fixture in Democratic politics and the black community in Houston who has the backing of the outgoing Mayor, Sylvester Turner. , as well as party stars like Bill and Hillary Clinton.

But Mr. Wickers showed little enthusiasm for his vote. And if he were honest, he wouldn’t mind if her opponent, John Whitmire, a white politician and also a longtime Democrat, prevailed. “That’s all for show,” Mr. Wickers said of the race. ‘Nothing is being done. The streets are still messy.”

His feelings appear to be widely shared. Houstonians may have many complaints about their city – crime and traffic, housing costs and trash collection and the difficulty of getting a permit to do anything – but unlike the seething divisions and bitter clashes that have marked the recent municipal elections in Los Angeles and Chicago featured, the race to lead the nation’s fourth-largest city has produced few fireworks or fanfare.

“What if we had a mayoral election and no one showed up?” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. “That’s basically where we are.”

In part, that’s because, for the first time in years, a nonpartisan mayoral race in Houston will end in a runoff Saturday, with two prominent politicians who are both Democrats: Ms. Jackson Lee, 73, in Congress since 1995, and Mr. Whitmire, 74, who has been a member of the Senate since 1983.

It could also be that no single issue energized the electorate or motivated turnout. Even crime, which voters list as a top concern, is on the decline, according to police statistics.

“The economy is good in Houston, housing prices could be a little more affordable, but overall things are going well,” said Gene Wu, a state representative who supported Mr. Whitmire. “There are always gaps. But you know what, even the pothole situation has gotten better.”

Ms. Jackson Lee came with some baggage: decades of partisan fighting, including over the Iraq War and gay rights, a reputation as tough for the staff and frequent grabs the television spotlight. Large numbers of Houston voters already knew her, and many didn’t like her. In a University of Houston survey this fall43 percent of respondents said they would “never” vote for her, while only 15 percent declined to vote for Mr. Whitmire.

In a city whose diversity is a point of civic pride, it is Mr. Whitmire who is leading in the polls. If elected, he would be the first white male mayor to lead Houston since Bill White more than a decade ago.

“Was he the perfect candidate? No,” said Michelle Naff, 56, who lives in Ms. Jackson Lee’s district, after voting for Mr. Whitmire on the first ballot in November. “But I don’t like her as my congresswoman.”

The two Democrats have struggled to draw clear lines between each other on issues. In separate interviews with The New York Times, both emphasized the need for effective management at City Hall, a desire to attract new businesses to Houston and a focus on public safety.

“If the perception is that you are unsafe, it matters,” Mr. Whitmire said, adding that he no longer goes shopping in stores at night. “It has consequences for our economy.” Mr. Whitmire has pledged to work with Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration to deploy state troopers to help patrol, even as a similar approach in Austin, a progressive college town, resulted in backlash over concerns about racial profiling.

“Houston is not Austin,” he said.

Ms Jackson Lee also emphasized the need to ensure public safety, but said she would do so with the help of local officers, and in a way that would address injustice. “I want to make sure that social justice is supported by a great, strong group of law enforcement and firefighters,” she said.

Even more than Mr. Whitmire, she talked about affordable housing — a relatively new issue for Houston, a sprawling city long known for its low housing prices — and about improving the city’s image nationally.

“I think we need to rebrand Houston,” she said. “My theme is: let’s make Houston pop.”

When Ms. Jackson Lee entered the race in March, she appeared to provide a stark contrast to, and potentially stiff competition for, Mr. Whitmire, the presumptive front-runner, who was seen by many Democrats as too moderate and too aligned with the political leaders. Republicans.

Two young black Democratic candidates dropped out of the race, leaving Ms. Jackson with a clear opportunity to challenge Mr. Whitmire.

But her campaign started late and had stumbling blocks. A recent television commercial listed the wrong date before the election. She faced further questions about her treatment of staff members after a recording became public of a woman, reportedly Ms Jackson Lee, berating her staff. “I know I’m not perfect,” she said in a comment in response.

Mr. Whitmire has had a significant fundraising advantage, spending millions on television advertising and mailings. External groups, including one run by retired police officersalso flooded mailboxes attacking Ms Jackson Lee.

Mr. Whitmire did that faced with critical investigation into past conflicts of interest because of his role as a state legislator and his work as an attorney for a firm whose clients had interests before the state. And he faced attacks from Mayor Turner, who can no longer run for office because of term limits, after Mr. Whitmire said during a debate that there was a lack of Asian and Hispanic diversity among municipal leaders, many of whom, like Mr. Turner, are black.

“That’s a dog whistle,” Mr. Turner said during a city council meeting.

The contest has underscored the complex ways in which race and ethnicity play a role in nonpartisan elections in a city where no single group of voters is dominant.

Although roughly 45 percent of the population is Hispanic, this figure overestimates the community’s voting power, according to census data, said Hector de León, a former local elections official. The average age of voters in municipal elections is around 60, says Mr de León, who publishes an article website that analyzes election data. “The vast majority of Hispanic registered voters are well below that age, and getting young people to vote regardless of their race or ethnicity is a challenge,” he said.

The nonpartisan nature of the race also means that even though Houston generally votes for Democrats in national and statewide races, Republican voters have enormous influence.

“To win a nonpartisan race, you have to have bipartisan appeal,” said Odus Evbagharu, a consultant and former head of the Democratic Party in Harris County, which includes Houston.

From the beginning, Mr. Whitmire has actively sought Republican support, launching his campaign with an event last year attended by prominent local Republican donors. He has played up his bipartisan experience while also emphasizing his identity as a Democrat and his endorsements of groups traditionally aligned with Democrats, such as the AFL-CIO.

In his interview with The Times, Mr. Whitmire said he opposed Republican positions on women’s health care and border security. At the same time, he presented himself as a moderate on municipal issues. He recounted his experience of being held at gunpoint with his wife and young daughter during a robbery in the driveway of their Houston home in the 1990s, highlighted his ability to work with Republicans in the State Capitol and expressed his opposition against some of Houston’s new bikes. lanes, which he said created traffic backups.

For her part, Ms. Jackson Lee said she too could work with Republicans, citing her work with Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. creating the Juneteenth national holiday.