The race to replace the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner in Texas’ 18th Congressional District advanced to a runoff election between Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards.

The congressional seat, which covers some of the most densely populated portions of Houston, has been empty since Turner’s sudden death on March 5.

A Democratic stronghold, there were 16 candidates in the race, seven Democrats, five Republicans, three independents and one Green Party candidate.

Menefee, an attorney and Houston City Council member, won 32% of the vote as of late Tuesday night, and Edwards, who currently serves as Harris County attorney, brought in 26%. Because neither candidate took home 50% of the vote to win the seat, they will have to face off again in a runoff election in February.

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Due to the passing of Texas’ mid-decade redistricting bill, the district will split into districts 9, 29 and 18. However, this change will not happen until March and will not impact the runoff election.

Though both candidates have been vocal critics of President Donald Trump, Menefee has been endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus Political Action Committee. He has been praised by the likes of Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Greg Casar, D-Texas, and Maxwell Frost, D-Fla. 

In a joint statement, the three called Menefee a “proven fighter” against “Republican overreach” and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney Ken Paxton and the Trump administration.

“As the youngest person and first African-American to serve as chief civil lawyer for Texas’s largest county, Christian Menefee has a demonstrated record of standing up to Republican overreach and delivering results for working families,” the three said in the statement. “He has won multi-million dollar settlements holding corporations accountable for emissions deception and deceptive marketing and has protected communities by taking on polluters and discriminatory landfill expansion. He has taken on Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton and the Trump administration. Christian is the proven fighter Texas’s 18th district needs. We are proud to back his campaign.”

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Menefee has also boasted in campaign ads about being called a “radical attorney” by the Trump White House.

Edwards, meanwhile, has been endorsed by groups such as EMILY’s List and Elect Democratic Women.

Edwards’ campaign website emphasizes building a healthier, safer and more equitable District 18.

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She states that “under President Trump’s leadership, our country has seen devastating attacks on our democracy, divisive rhetoric that weakened communities, and policies that have harmed the middle class and working families.”

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Turner died at age 70, having only served in Congress for just months. He also served as mayor of Houston for eight years, from 2016 to 2024. He replaced the late Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who also died in office in 2024, after serving in Congress for 29 years.

Student leaders from Young America’s Foundation (YAF) at Oklahoma State University are speaking out following heated confrontations that left their table trashed during four interactions in one day by the same individual. Fox News Digital spoke with YAF Chairman Thomas Hatfield and Vice Chairman Caleb Buxton about the incident, the university’s response and what they hope to see from school officials moving forward.

The students explained what happened and why they believe it is “dangerous” for those on the left to freely describe conservatives as “fascists” and why they think leftists have been “brainwashed.”

The YAF chapter was holding a table in support of traditional marriage last week and hoping to conduct productive debate. They said they first saw an individual approach them from a pro-Palestinian table nearby and looked angry.

YOUNG AMERICA’S FOUNDATION TABLE GETS TRASHED AT OSU BY PERSON WHO TELLS CONSERVATIVES TO ‘F— OFF’

“When they got to the sidewalk, they pushed through all the people who were there talking to us and started grabbing all of our stickers, pins, everything that was on the table. We started recording, and I followed the individual about 50 yards away to the nearest trash can, where they disposed of all of our stickers and stuff,” Buxton said.

After this first incident, they didn’t think the person would come back, but soon realized that wasn’t the case.

“They came back for a second time, this time walking about three or four hundred yards away from the table. While I was following them, I was able to have a little bit of a discussion with him, but it always resorted back to, ‘You’re a fascist, and I’m not stealing because this isn’t worth a lot of money. They’re just stickers.’ They threw our stickers across the sidewalk and, while I was having that discussion with him, five or six college students were kind enough to start picking up the stickers.”

They came back two more times following the second incident.

“About 15 minutes after that, the individual came back again for a third time, again walking away, throwing the stickers, and this time it ended with about a 20-minute conversation with this individual, where they called me a fascist 16 times in that one sitting and justified everything they were doing because I was a fascist, saying that fascists don’t have rights, they don’t have any reason to be out there, their opinions aren’t worth anything.”

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Buxton shared why he considers the use of the term fascist “dangerous.”

“I think that shows how the left, always pushing fascist rhetoric, has really brainwashed a lot of their followers into thinking that anybody on the right is a fascist, and they don’t have any rights, so I can do whatever I want to them because they’re evil people and I think that’s really dangerous.”

Buxton said if supporting Trump made him a “fascist,” then that would apply to over half of Americans, which he said he didn’t believe is true.

“The person then walked back over to our table a fourth time, grabbed our stickers again, threw them again, which is where the viral clip came from, taken from one of the other people at the table… and this conversation went very shortly and the person walked away. That was kind of the end of the discussions with the individual,” Buxton said. “Then the police came shortly after, and we talked to them for a while, and we are currently pressing charges against the individual.”

The students are seeking charges and hope to see further disciplinary action from the school.

“We will continue to press on until due justice is given to us and to all people who have had free speech incidents on campus because we want to send the message that this is unacceptable and this will not stand,” Hatfield said.

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“If this were to happen to a leftist club on campus, there would be all kinds of emails — do you need mental training or anything like that or therapy? So we haven’t got any type of outreach like that,” Buxton said.

Regardless, YAF at OSU plans to continue pushing forward.

“We’re going to keep working hard to push on social issues that we have always worked on,” Buxton said. “We’re going to have to keep pushing on them and never back down no matter what happens. I think if you back down during times of trouble, that’s not going to help anyone.”

Hatfield is also encouraging the school to sign a contract put forth by the YAF Federation.

“We would also like to, officially, as Young Americans for Freedom at Oklahoma State University, demand that Oklahoma State sign on to the Contract for Safe Campus dialog as put forward by Young America’s Foundation and the president of the Young America Foundation, Governor Scott Walker,” he said. 

“We demand that Oklahoma State University sign this contract and this charter to ensure that all students, no matter what side of the aisle they stand on politically or socially, may have a place to speak at Oklahoma State University and to ensure that an incident like this never happens again,” Hatfield continued. 

“And we ask Oklahoma State university not to sign this as lip service to our side, but we ask them to sign it as a commitment and to release us and many statements to enact policies, committing to fostering an environment where everyone’s First Amendment rights are respected,” he added.

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OSU commented on the viral post, writing, “Oklahoma State University supports free speech. The OSU Police Department is actively investigating this incident.”

In a comment made to Fox News Digital on Friday, OSU wrote, “Oklahoma State University supports the rights of student groups to express their opinions and speak freely. The OSU Police Department has investigated the incident, and charges are pending.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to OSU following the interview with Hatfield and Buxton and was provided with the same response: “Oklahoma State University supports the rights of student groups to express their opinions and speak freely.” 

“The OSU Police Department immediately investigated the incident, and charges are pending. Additionally, while federal law prohibits the university from sharing information on specific students, we can share that our student conduct team is engaged in this matter and will address any violations of our student code of conduct,” the statement added. 

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Fox News’ Nikolas Lanum and Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi contributed to this report.

Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday that requires judges deny bail to defendants charged with certain violent felonies.

Proposition 3, also known as Senate Joint Resolution 5 (SJR 5), expands bail denial eligibility to those charged with murder, capital murder or certain aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, sexual assault, indecency with a child and human trafficking.

Judges shall deny bail to defendants they believe are likely to skip court or pose a clear threat to public safety, according to the amendment.

Judges will then have to provide a written order explaining their decision.

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More than 60% of Texas voters supported Proposition 3 at the ballots, according to data compiled early Wednesday morning.

Critics of the amendment argue it violates the freedoms of those accused of certain crimes, especially those who are falsely accused, and drives up the state’s already overcrowded jails, the Texas Tribune reported.

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Supporters of the state’s broader bail reform crackdown have said the amendment will improve public safety by keeping high-risk defendants in custody before trial and improve current bail laws that fail to protect public safety.

Gov. Greg Abbott posted his support for Proposition 3 on social media last month.

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“Murderers belong behind bars. Not set free to kill again like what happened in Houston and other places,” Abbott wrote. “Proposition 3 on the ballot this November needs your vote to ensure Texas keeps the most dangerous criminals behind bars.”