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Houston’s mayoral race is heating up with a new slate of endorsements days ahead of early voting for a Dec. 9 runoff election that will determine the city’s newest leader. The growing number of backings go to show partisanship in a nonpartisan race that has struggled to stay civil.
Houston mayoral candidates John Whitmire and Sheila Jackson Lee have reeled in several endorsements this week. Whitmire’s campaign announced he received two additional endorsements this week, topping off his lengthy chart of elected officials and organizations that said they plan to vote for the longtime state senator.
Whitmire in a social media post Tuesday announced former Houston mayoral candidate Jack Christie is endorsing him for mayor. Christie, a former city councilman, finished with 6.9 percent of the vote in the Nov. 11 mayoral election.
"Senator Whitmire is driven by a sincere commitment to achieving a balanced budget, ensuring fair firefighter salaries, increasing the officer count for law enforcement so that Houston will be universally recognized as the best-run big city in America,” Christie said, according to that post.
Whitmire has touted his Democratic endorsers in the forefront of Jackson Lee’s claims of his Republican affiliations. Weeks into the mayoral race, Jackson Lee has engaged in “attack advertisements” against her opponent, Whitmire, claiming his affiliations with Republican organizations run deep.
"I have not said one negative word in this entire campaign about any of my opponents,” Whitmire said during an Oct. 30 mayoral debate after being called out by Jackson Lee.
Robert Stein, a Rice University political science professor, said voters should pay close attention to the way candidates run their campaigns.
“People feel the strongest suit for Whitmire,” Stein said. “He can bring together the right people.”
A Monday endorsement from former Houston mayor Annise Parker solidifies that, he said.
“He understands that our city's budget is structurally unbalanced and he isn’t afraid to make tough choices — funding only what we can afford, with a priority put on public safety, infrastructure, and basic city services,” Parker said in a statement.
An understanding of the state of the city’s finances is crucial for the next mayor, Stein said.
“The city’s finances are in significant restraint,” he said. “We haven’t passed a bond since 2012.”
Despite Jackson Lee bringing in major endorsements from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Stein said he thinks Whitmire’s endorsement lineup outweighs that of Jackson Lee, a longtime Congresswoman.
“I think it’s obvious, Whitmire solidified what most of us thought — he has a much greater reach,” Stein said.
State Representative Jolanda Jones and Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries announced their endorsements for Jackson Lee on Tuesday, according to Jackson Lee’s campaign.
Jackson Lee has campaigned on public safety and a mission to reduce the city’s crime rate. Whitmire has run on a campaign to solidify Houston’s finances.
Early voting for the runoff begins Monday.