Five people will run in the special election to temporarily fill the seat vacated by former House Majority leader Tom DeLay, the secretary of state’s office said Friday.
The special election will be held Nov. 7, the same day as the general election.
Houston City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, backed by Republicans as a write-in candidate in the general election, is among those who filed by Friday’s deadline for the special election.
She is joined by three other Republicans — retired Air Force Maj. Don Richardson; Dr. Hoa Tran Giannibecego; and former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman — and Libertarian Bob Smither.
Nick Lampson, the Democratic candidate for DeLay’s seat, has said he would not run in the special election but would instead focus his attention on the general election.
Republicans were left to rally around Sekula-Gibbs as a write-in candidate for the general election after the courts denied GOP efforts to replace DeLay’s name on the ballot. DeLay won the March Republican primary before quitting the race.
