Erica Lee Carter

Erica Shelwyn Lee Carter (née Lee; born February 2, 1980) is an American politician and educator from the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. representative for Texas’s 18th congressional district from November 12, 2024, to January 3, 2025. A member of a prominent Houston political family, she is the daughter of U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, a lawyer and longtime member of Congress, and Elwyn Lee, a law professor. She has one brother, Jason Cornelius Bennett Lee. Raised in an environment steeped in public service and law, she was influenced early by her parents’ careers in government, academia, and civic engagement.

Lee Carter pursued higher education on the East Coast, graduating with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree. She continued her studies at Duke University, where she earned a Master of Public Policy. Her academic training in public policy and governance laid the foundation for her later work in education, public health, and politics, and reflected her longstanding interest in the intersection of policy and community service.

Before seeking elected office, Lee Carter built a career in education and public policy. She worked as a teacher in the Houston Independent School District, gaining firsthand experience with the challenges facing public schools and urban students. She later served as a regional quality coordinator for a nonprofit public health organization, focusing on improving health outcomes and organizational performance. Earlier in her career, she was part of a team that helped prepare a $21 billion education budget for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, contributing to large-scale fiscal planning and policy development in the education sector.

Lee Carter’s formal entry into electoral politics came in 2011, when she filed to run for the 1st precinct seat on the Board of Trustees of the Harris County Department of Education. She explained that her decision to run was partly inspired by her family’s deep involvement in public service. In that race, she advanced to a runoff against former Houston City Councilmember Jarvis Johnson. A county error initially prevented voters from casting ballots in the runoff, but after the issue was resolved she ultimately won the runoff and then defeated Republican Juliette Bartlett-Pack in the general election. She served on the Board of Trustees of the Harris County Department of Education from 2013 to 2019, where she worked on issues related to regional educational services, special programs, and fiscal oversight for county-level education initiatives.

In 2016, Lee Carter sought to expand her role in state government by running to replace State Representative Borris Miles, who had been selected to succeed Rodney Ellis in the Texas Senate. The vacancy was filled by a vote of Democratic precinct chairs, and Lee Carter was defeated when the chairs selected Shawn Thierry as the party’s choice. Following this contest, she continued her work in public policy, later serving as a policy analyst for Senator Rodney Ellis, further deepening her experience in legislative affairs and policy research at the state level.

Lee Carter’s service in the United States Congress arose from the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death. On July 19, 2024, Sheila Jackson Lee died, leaving vacant the 18th congressional district seat she had held for nearly three decades. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that a special election to fill the remainder of the term would be held on Election Day in November 2024. Former Houston mayor Sylvester Turner was initially chosen as the Democratic Party’s nominee for both the special and general elections, and Lee Carter and her brother publicly endorsed him to succeed their mother. In the days that followed, however, Lee Carter received significant encouragement from community members and local leaders to run herself. She subsequently announced her candidacy for the special election to complete her mother’s unexpired term, while Turner, who continued as the Democratic nominee in the general election, withdrew from the special election and endorsed her. In the special election held on November 5, 2024, Lee Carter faced former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards and won the seat. She was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on November 12, 2024, and served until January 3, 2025, completing one term in office. During her tenure, she sat on the United States House Committee on the Judiciary, participating in the legislative and oversight responsibilities of that panel while representing the interests of constituents in Texas’s 18th district during a significant period in American political life.

After leaving Congress at the end of the term in January 2025, Lee Carter remained active in Democratic politics and local public affairs. Her successor in the 18th district, Sylvester Turner, died unexpectedly on March 5, 2025, prompting speculation that she might seek the seat again in a subsequent special election. She was reported as a potential candidate but declined to run, instead announcing that she would endorse Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and serve as his campaign manager. On July 7, 2025, she further signaled her continued interest in local governance by stating that she intended to run for county judge of Harris County if the incumbent, Lina Hidalgo, chose not to seek re-election. When Hidalgo later announced her retirement in September 2025, Lee Carter ultimately decided not to enter the race, reiterating her support for other Democratic candidates and maintaining a role as a strategist and advocate rather than as a candidate.

In her personal life, Lee Carter married Roy L. Carter Jr. in November 2012 in Houston. Their wedding reception was attended by various Democratic politicians, reflecting her longstanding ties to the party and to Houston’s political community. The couple has twins, Ellison Bennett Carter and Roy Lee Carter III. Balancing family life with her work in education, public health, and politics, Erica Lee Carter has continued to be identified with public service in Houston and Harris County, building on the legacy of her parents while pursuing her own path in local and national affairs.