Isaiah Martin (Texas)
Isaiah Martin (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Texas' 18th Congressional District. He lost in the special general election on November 4, 2025.
Biography
Isaiah Martin was born in Houston, Texas. Martin earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston in 2021.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Texas' 18th Congressional District special election, 2025
General runoff election
Special general runoff election for U.S. House Texas District 18
Amanda Edwards and Christian Menefee are running in the special general runoff election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on January 31, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Amanda Edwards (D) | |
 | Christian Menefee (D)  | |
| ||||
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General election
Special general election for U.S. House Texas District 18
The following candidates ran in the special general election for U.S. House Texas District 18 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christian Menefee (D) | 28.9 | 21,979 |
| ✔ | | Amanda Edwards (D) | 25.6 | 19,440 |
 | Jolanda Jones (D) | 19.1 | 14,524 | |
 | Carmen Montiel (R) | 6.7 | 5,107 | |
 | Isaiah Martin (D) | 5.7 | 4,336 | |
| Ollie Knox (R) | 4.1 | 3,130 | ||
 | Stephen Huey (D) | 1.9 | 1,414 | |
| Ronald Whitfield (R) | 1.5 | 1,174 | ||
 | Carter Page (R) | 1.2 | 943 | |
 | Theodis Daniel (R) | 1.2 | 937 | |
 | Valencia Williams (D) | 1.2 | 915 | |
| George Foreman (Independent) | 1.1 | 827 | ||
| Feldon Bonner II (D) | 0.7 | 553 | ||
 | Vince Duncan (Independent) | 0.5 | 407 | |
| Reyna Anderson (Independent) | 0.3 | 263 | ||
| Tammie Rochester (G) | 0.2 | 135 | ||
| Total votes: 76,084 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Lizette Prestwich (D)
- Jarvis Johnson (D)
- Derrell Turner (Independent)
- Khris Beal (Independent)
- James Joseph (D)
- Zoe Cadore (D)
- Kivan Polimis (D)
- Chance Davis (Independent)
- Corisha Rogers (D)
- Selena Samuel (D)
- Robert Slater (D)
- Ebony Eatmon (D)
- Peter Filler (D)
- T.J. Baker (D)
- Tejas Tuppera (Independent)
- Laverne Crump (D)
- Barry Dewayne Marchant (D)
Endorsements
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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 | |
| 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. | ||||
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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 | |
| 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. | ||||
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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 | |
| 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Martin in this election.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Isaiah Martin did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
2024
Isaiah Martin completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Martin's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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While a student at University of Houston, Isaiah found his voice and saw the ways he could make a difference. He founded the on-campus group "#ForTheStudents" that advocated for students' needs. After sitting down with survivors, he co-founded the Full Support partnership with the Harris County DA's office to provide free rape kits and sexual assault services for UH students and six other Houston area colleges/universities. After multi-hour long voting lines on his campus, he teamed up with the Harris County Clerk and UH Athletics to use our on-campus football stadium as a polling location.
After finishing his studies, Isaiah spent two years learning behind his hero, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, both in Houston and in Washington, D.C. During this time, he observed the Congresswoman's commitment to public service, her passion for uplifting families, and her dedication to moving our country forward.
Now, Isaiah wants to bring his experiences in developing solutions to Congress to focus on what matters most; expanding opportunity for all and delivering real results for all Houstonians.- Healthcare is unaffordable, and Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country. Isaiah will work to lower the cost of healthcare by advocating for universal, affordable healthcare with a guaranteed public option to drive down costs. He will work to restore and increase funding for community health clinics, health centers, and hospitals in our area.
- People across the nation have watched Greg Abbott pass laws to limit polling stations, create new challenges for mail in ballots, and give power to the state to overturn local elections. Isaiah's fighting back with the same vigor as those who have come long before and will be relentless in the fight to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
- We need to invest in the future of our economy and our workforce. That starts with expanding access to workforce development and education opportunities by expanding job training programs, eliminating tuition for trade schools and community colleges, and making public colleges free for families earning under $120,000 per year. While we make those investments, Isaiah will make sure to take an active role in our community by working with local professionals to host job fairs and connect employers with those seeking employment opportunities.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Texas District 18 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 20, 2023
