House seat is shaping up to be a competitive one, with two Democrats already throwing their hats in even though the date of the special election has yet to be called. Turner, who survived a battle with bone cancer in 2022,

The former Houston mayor’s funeral drew more than 1,000 mourners on Saturday, including 20 of his congressional colleagues from both political parties.

Mourners filed into Houston's Church Without Walls Saturday — some wearing black, others in vivid shades of blue — to honor former Mayor and U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner at his funeral, as a montage of the prolific orator’s speeches played in the sanctuary.

The district has been a Democratic stronghold, held for decades by Sheila Jackson Lee and most recently by former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who died March 5.