On Thursday, Houston City Councilor Amanda Edwards announced that she would join the Democratic primary to take on GOP Sen. John Cornyn. Edwards, who would be the first woman of color to represent Texas in the Senate as well as its first black senator, used her campaign kickoff to appeal to “all of the people who have ever been locked out or told that they can't wait or to wait their turn because the status quo or establishment was not ready for change.”
Edwards won her first campaign in 2015 when she was elected to one of the city’s five citywide council seats by a 62-38 margin. After Hurricane Harvey devastated the city in 2017, Edwards led an effort to identify and contact low-income flood victims who had stopped answering calls from people trying to assist them. Edwards and her volunteers have continued door-to-door efforts to check in with people living in areas that were devastated by the storm who might not otherwise have access to City Hall.
Edwards, who is not seeking re-election to the City Council this year, joins Air Force veteran MJ Hegar and former Rep. Chris Bell in the primary, and state Sen. Royce West will also announce his plans on Monday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has met with Edwards, Hegar, and West, and so far, Senate Democrats have not taken sides in this contest.
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