Amanda Edwards

Amanda Edwards

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. House Texas District 18

Prior offices

Houston City Council At-large Position 4

Successor: Letitia Plummer

---

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

High school

Eisenhower High School

Bachelor's

Emory University

Law

Harvard University

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Amanda Edwards (Democratic Party) is running in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 18th Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the special general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Edwards was a member of the Houston City Council in Texas, representing At-large Position 4. She assumed office on January 2, 2016. She left office on January 2, 2020.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Born in Houston, Edwards graduated from Eisenhower High School. She went on to earn an undergraduate degree in political science from Atlanta's Emory University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Edwards is an attorney. Her professional experience includes the following:

• 2012-Present: Attorney, Bracewell LLP
• 2008-2012: Attorney, Vinson and Elkins
• 2007-2008: Judicial law clerk, U.S. Federal District Court
• 2006: Summer associate, Arnold and Porter
• 2003-2004: College council president, Emory University

Elections

2025

See also: Texas' 18th Congressional District special election, 2025

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

Special general election for U.S. House Texas District 18

The following candidates are running in the special general election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Feldon Bonner II (D)
		Amanda Edwards (D)
		Stephen Huey (D)
		Jolanda Jones (D)
		Isaiah Martin (D)
		Christian Menefee (D)
		Valencia Williams (D)
		Theodis Daniel (R)
	Submit photo	Ollie Knox (R)
		Carmen Montiel (R)
	Submit photo	Carter Page (R)
	Submit photo	Ronald Whitfield (R)
	Submit photo	Tammie Rochester (G)
	Submit photo	Reyna Anderson (Independent)
		Vince Duncan (Independent)
	Submit photo	George Foreman (Independent)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Barry Dewayne Marchant (D)
• Zoe Cadore (D)
• Jarvis Johnson (D)
• Peter Filler (D)
• Lizette Prestwich (D)
• Chance Davis (Independent)
• Robert Slater (D)
• Derrell Turner (Independent)
• Khris Beal (Independent)
• James Joseph (D)
• Kivan Polimis (D)
• Corisha Rogers (D)
• Selena Samuel (D)
• Ebony Eatmon (D)
• T.J. Baker (D)
• Tejas Tuppera (Independent)
• Laverne Crump (D)

Endorsements

Edwards received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• EMILY's List

2024

See also: Texas' 18th Congressional District election, 2024

Texas' 18th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Republican primary)

Texas' 18th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Texas District 18

Sylvester Turner defeated Lana Centonze, Vince Duncan, and Kevin Dural in the general election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sylvester Turner (D)	69.4	151,834
		Lana Centonze (R)	30.5	66,810
		Vince Duncan (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	62
		Kevin Dural (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	14

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 218,720
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ed Atkinson (Veteran's Party)
• Sheila Jackson Lee (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 18

Incumbent Sheila Jackson Lee defeated Amanda Edwards and Robert Slater (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Texas District 18 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sheila Jackson Lee	60.0	23,629
		Amanda Edwards	37.3	14,668
		Robert Slater (Unofficially withdrew)	2.7	1,059

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,356
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jasmine Blue (D)
• Isaiah Martin (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 18

Lana Centonze defeated Aaron Hermes in the Republican primary for U.S. House Texas District 18 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lana Centonze	53.3	6,202
		Aaron Hermes	46.7	5,438

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,640
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Election campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Sheila Jackson Lee	Democratic Party	$553,256	$913,259	$12,657	As of December 31, 2024
Lana Centonze	Republican Party	$69,381	$69,381	$0	As of December 31, 2024
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Edwards in this election.

2020

See also: United States Senate election in Texas, 2020

United States Senate election in Texas, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

United States Senate election in Texas, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Texas

Incumbent John Cornyn defeated Mary Jennings Hegar, Kerry McKennon, David B. Collins, and Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla in the general election for U.S. Senate Texas on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Cornyn (R)	53.5	5,962,983
		Mary Jennings Hegar (D)	43.9	4,888,764
		Kerry McKennon (L)	1.9	209,722
		David B. Collins (G)	0.7	81,893
		Ricardo Turullols-Bonilla (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	678

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,144,040
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Arjun Srinivasan (Independent)
• Cedric Jefferson (People Over Politics Party)
• James Brumley (The Human Rights Party)
• Tim Smith (Independent)

Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for U.S. Senate Texas

Mary Jennings Hegar defeated Royce West in the Democratic primary runoff for U.S. Senate Texas on July 14, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mary Jennings Hegar	52.2	502,516
		Royce West	47.8	459,457

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 961,973 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Texas

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Texas on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mary Jennings Hegar	22.3	417,160
✔		Royce West	14.7	274,074
		Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez	13.2	246,659
		Annie Garcia	10.3	191,900
		Amanda Edwards	10.1	189,624
		Chris Bell	8.5	159,751
		Sema Hernandez	7.4	137,892
		Michael Cooper	4.9	92,463
		Victor Harris	3.2	59,710
		Adrian Ocegueda	2.2	41,566
		Jack Daniel Foster Jr.	1.7	31,718
		D.R. Hunter	1.4	26,902

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,869,419
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Love III (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Texas

Incumbent John Cornyn defeated Dwayne Stovall, Mark Yancey, John Castro, and Virgil Bierschwale in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Texas on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Cornyn	76.0	1,470,669
		Dwayne Stovall	11.9	231,104
		Mark Yancey	6.5	124,864
		John Castro	4.5	86,916
		Virgil Bierschwale	1.1	20,494

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,934,047
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Green convention

Green convention for U.S. Senate Texas

David B. Collins advanced from the Green convention for U.S. Senate Texas on April 18, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		David B. Collins (G)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Texas

Kerry McKennon advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Texas on August 3, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Kerry McKennon (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Wes Benedict (L)
• Rhett Rosenquest Smith (L)

2015

See also: Houston, Texas municipal elections, 2015

The city of Houston, Texas, held elections for mayor and city council on November 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was August 24, 2015. In the race for At-Large Position 4, Roy Morales and Amanda Edwards defeated Larry Blackmon, Jonathan Hansen, Matt Murphy, Laurie Robinson and Evelyn Husband Thompson in the general election. Edwards defeated Morales in the runoff election on December 12, 2015.

Amanda Edwards defeated Roy Morales in the runoff election.

Houston City Council At-large Position 4, Runoff election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Amanda Edwards	61.5%	106,126
Roy Morales	38.5%	66,372
Write-in votes	0%	0
Total Votes (100% of precincts reporting)		172,498
Source: Harris County, Texas, "Runoff Election Results," December 12, 2015

Houston City Council At-large Position 4, General election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Amanda Edwards	34.9%	67,261
Roy Morales	16.9%	32,563
Laurie Robinson	16.4%	31,628
Evelyn Husband Thompson	13.4%	25,880
Matt Murphy	9.2%	17,722
Larry Blackmon	5.8%	11,101
Jonathan Hansen	3.3%	6,444
Write-in votes	0%	0
Total Votes (100% of precincts reporting)		192,599
Source: Harris County Texas, "Official general election results," accessed November 16, 2015

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Amanda Edwards has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Amanda Edwards, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 22,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

Help improve Ballotpedia - send us candidate contact info.

2024

Amanda Edwards did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Edwards’s campaign website stated the following:

“	A Thriving 18th Congressional District Amanda has a long track record of fighting for an economy where everyone can thrive. As a Houston City Council Member, she created the City of Houston Women and Minority-Owned Business Task Force to facilitate fair access to capital and supportive resources. She also supported the adoption of higher wages and improved protections for workers on City of Houston construction projects. And as a proud graduate of Eisenhower High School who went on to some of the top universities in the country, she knows that a high-quality public school education can open doors, and she believes higher education should be accessible to everyone. As a member of Congress, Amanda will: Expand access to capital, training, and other resources for small business owners. Strengthen the rights of workers to unionize and collectively bargain. Fight for a true living wage for American workers. Create opportunities for workers by expanding apprenticeship programs and introduce innovative and modern approaches to job training. Tackle the soaring costs of higher education, champion initiatives to support community colleges, and fund innovative education initiatives in our neighborhood schools. A Healthy 18th Congressional District Having lost both of her parents to cancer, Amanda knows first-hand that healthcare access is a matter of life or death in many households. Yet Texas has the most uninsured people in the country, in part because our state leadership has refused to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Texans also live with bans on reproductive health care – and experience some of the biggest health disparities in the country. ​As a member of Congress, Amanda will: Increase access to health care by supporting the improvement and expansion of the Affordable Care Act coverage. Work to preserve Medicare, Social Security, and other benefits that our seniors rely on to survive. Protect health privacy by expanding HIPAA to ensure that private medical decisions, especially decisions about women’s reproductive health, truly stay private. Work to codify the protections of Roe v. Wade at the federal level. Fight against bounty-style abortion bans by pursuing protections that would prevent the stalking or hunting of people seeking abortion care. A Resilient 18th Congressional District When Amanda served on H-GAC, our regional planning body, she learned that our eight-county region will grow by 4.2 million people within 20 years. With this type of anticipated growth, ensuring resiliency by investing in our transportation and flood mitigation infrastructure, housing stock, and the systems that power our region is mission critical. As the community grows, we must be prepared to lead on the energy transition, and to combat the impacts of climate change. As a member of Congress, Amanda will: Champion an improved, efficient, long-term funding system to address the unique infrastructure needs of the Houston region. Work across industries and communities to ensure Houston will lead the energy transition – and be the energy capital of the world of today and tomorrow Invest in multi-modal transportation infrastructure to support the anticipated 4 million people joining our region. Work to right-size our housing supply by expanding federal support for housing planning for cities and using federal resources to incentivize the building of new housing. Develop innovative solutions to protect our residents from gentrification and displacement, and champion increased resources for CDBG programs. Support policies that combat climate change, which continues to pose severe threats to the longevity of our community. An Equitable 18th Congressional District Amanda is inspired in her work by the deep civil rights legacy of the 18th Congressional District. The late, legendary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan and Congressman Mickey Leland made our region an important hub in the fight for democracy and civil rights for everyone. Yet today, our basic civil rights are under attack. In 2020, voting in Texas was harder than anywhere else in the country, and it has gotten even more restrictive since. As a Member of Congress, Amanda will: Champion a comprehensive approach to securing our democracy, including expanding and protecting voting rights and addressing the extreme gerrymandering that suppresses the votes of Black and Latino communities. Fight to ensure LGBTQIA+ people are federally protected from discriminatory policies that states including Texas are increasingly enacting. Fight for environmental justice. Develop comprehensive equitable solutions for communities impacted by environmental injustice and resulting health issues, like the Fifth Ward cancer cluster. A Safe 18th Congressional District Having lost her own cousin at an early age to gun violence, Amanda knows real solutions are needed to keep more families from losing their loved ones to senseless gun violence. Amanda will fight for a common-sense gun safety regime, as well as a law enforcement and justice system that treats us all fairly. Amanda believes that everyone deserves to be safe, both from crime and from police violence. As a Member of Congress, Amanda will: Advocate for community-led training and resources to support true community policing practices that build trust and collaboration between law enforcement and our communities. Support reforms included in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Fight for common-sense gun control measures, including mandatory background checks and a federal red flag law. Support the expansion of community violence intervention programs, which are proven to make a difference in the safety of our communities.	”
—Amanda Edwards’s campaign website (2024)

2020

Amanda Edwards did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2015

The following excerpts highlight Edwards' campaign themes as listed on her website:

Improving infrastructure and transportation

“

Our city's aging infrastructure and worsening traffic present major problems for Houstonians on a daily basis. We must do better. That means: Improving road and drainage maintenance citywide. Projects need to be better prioritized and completed faster. Making Rebuild Houston more transparent. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been collected; we need to ensure they are being effectively spent. Expanding transit options. We must continue to work with METRO to deliver coherent, efficient transit options that better connect Houstonians with employment centers, and visitors with our urban centers and airports

”

Strengthening our economy and fiscal health

“

Houston's economy has rebounded well from the economic downturn, but many Houstonians are still struggling. We can do more to expand opportunity, including: Supporting and Attracting Businesses, Big and Small. By enticing large businesses to relocate to Houston and growing small businesses here at home, we can grow our tax base and relieve pressure on the city budget. Facing fiscal challenges. Our growing city and greater demand for city services are on a collision course with increasingly limited resources. … Developing our workforce. By partnering with our educational institutions to train tomorrow's workforce and improve today's workforce as well, we can break down barriers to success for many Houstonians.

”

Protecting public safety

“

There is no greater priority than keeping our neighborhoods safe. On City Council, I will support: Properly equipping and training first responders. We need to make sure departments have the tools and training they need to protect the public and maintain confidence and trust. Ensuring adequate resources. With revenue caps taking effect in 2015, we must insulate public safety from draconian budget cuts. Promoting community policing. Fostering open communication between law enforcement and residents should be encouraged to lower crime and maintain trust.

”

Enhancing quality of life

“

Houston is a great place to live, and we can make it even more livable for all Houstonians. That means: Promoting safe, walkable neighborhoods. All neighborhoods should be centers of activity and interaction that serve the needs of residents. … Maintaining and adding parks and green space. … We should ensure that Houstonians in all areas of the city enjoy access to safe green space and parks that promote health and wellness. Fulfilling the Bayou Greenways Initiative. Houstonians voted for a plan to connect our bayous for cycling, running and walking by 2020. We must keep working so that all Houstonians have access to the greenways and trails that enhance quality of life.

”

Campaign finance summary

---

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

---

Amanda Edwards campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Texas District 18	Lost primary	$1,682,415	$1,681,201
2020	U.S. Senate Texas	Lost primary	$1,013,504	$1,012,745
Grand total			$2,695,919	$2,693,946
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2025 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Personal

Website

Facebook

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by C.O. "Brad" Bradford	Houston City Council, At-large Position 4 2016–2020	Succeeded by Letitia Plummer

[show]

Texas' current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Cornyn (R)

Ted Cruz (R)

Representatives

District 1

Nathaniel Moran (R)

District 2

Daniel Crenshaw (R)

District 3

Keith Self (R)

District 4

Pat Fallon (R)

District 5

Lance Gooden (R)

District 6

Jake Ellzey (R)

District 7

Lizzie Fletcher (D)

District 8

Morgan Luttrell (R)

District 9

Al Green (D)

District 10

Michael McCaul (R)

District 11

August Pfluger (R)

District 12

Craig Goldman (R)

District 13

Ronny Jackson (R)

District 14

Randy Weber (R)

District 15

Monica De La Cruz (R)

District 16

Veronica Escobar (D)

District 17

Pete Sessions (R)

District 18

Vacant

District 19

Jodey Arrington (R)

District 20

Joaquin Castro (D)

District 21

Chip Roy (R)

District 22

Troy Nehls (R)

District 23

Tony Gonzales (R)

District 24

Beth Van Duyne (R)

District 25

Roger Williams (R)

District 26

Brandon Gill (R)

District 27

Michael Cloud (R)

District 28

Henry Cuellar (D)

District 29

Sylvia Garcia (D)

District 30

Jasmine Crockett (D)

District 31

John Carter (R)

District 32

Julie Johnson (D)

District 33

Marc Veasey (D)

District 34

Vicente Gonzalez (D)

District 35

Greg Casar (D)

District 36

Brian Babin (R)

District 37

Lloyd Doggett (D)

District 38

Wesley Hunt (R)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (12)

Vacancies (1)