Whitmire, Jackson Lee Face Off in Houston Mayoral Runoff Election

Only two candidates remain in the running for mayor of the fourth-largest city in the United States. The next mayor of Houston, Texas, will be decided in the runoff election between state Sen. John Whitmire (D) and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas.) The election will be held on Dec. 9, and while only about 21 percent of Houston’s 1.2 million registered voters cast ballots in the Nov. 7 election, any registered Houston voter can participate in the runoff. The race was dominated by issues of crime, crumbling infrastructure, and potential budget shortfalls. Despite finishing first and second, respectively, in the general election on Nov. 7, both Mr. Whitmire and Ms. Jackson Lee failed to secure the necessary majority of votes to avoid a runoff....