U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee defeated Democratic challenger Amanda Edwards in Tuesday’s primary, staving off the first serious reelection threat of her 30-year career in Congress.

The Associated Press called the race for Jackson Lee just after midnight. Edwards, who vastly outspent Jackson Lee and hoped to capitalize on the incumbent’s landslide defeat in last year’s mayoral race, trailed by double digits. 

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Jackson Lee struck a celebratory tone after arriving at her election night party around 9:45 p.m. when early returns showed her with an insurmountable lead. By Wednesday, with all 545 election day voting locations reporting results, Jackson Lee led 59.9% to Edwards' 37.4%.

“We got this election by going to one voter at a time, one neighborhood at a time,” Jackson Lee told supporters at Chapman & Kirby in east downtown. “I didn’t take one race as the end of Sheila Jackson Lee. I didn’t even get angry because I love the people of the city of Houston and the 18th Congressional District.”

She added: “I don’t get angry, I just get busy.”

Edwards, a former Houston City Council member who once interned in Jackson Lee’s office, had expected a far more competitive finish after a poll from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs found last month that Jackson Lee led Edwards by 5 percentage points among likely primary voters.

But the outcome was more reflective of Jackson Lee’s history of easily brushing off her assorted primary challengers over the years. First elected to represent the 18th Congressional District in 1994, when she unseated incumbent Craig Washington, she has routinely cruised to victory in nearly every election.

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Over three decades in Congress, Jackson Lee has emerged as one of her party’s leading voices on social justice issues. She told the Houston Chronicle last year that her proudest accomplishments included leading the rewrite of the Violence Against Women Act and championing the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

Edwards, a 42-year-old municipal finance attorney, previously served a four-year term as an at-large member of Houston City Council before running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate. Throughout the campaign, she did not point to any major policy differences, instead positioning herself as a newcomer who would take “a fresh, innovative approach to solving our lingering challenges” and focus more on the concerns of younger voters.

Jackson Lee, asked about those comments when she filed for reelection, said, “I’m a fresh face. Every year that I go back to the United States Congress, I’m committed to change, to leading and to solving problems.”

Jackson Lee, 74, launched her mayoral campaign last April, joining Edwards and several other candidates in the crowded field, laying the groundwork for what appeared to be a tough primary battle.

Edwards soon pivoted to run instead for Jackson Lee’s seat. In December, upon her defeat in the mayoral runoff, Jackson Lee quickly filed for another term in Congress, pitting herself against Edwards once again.

Edwards began the race with nearly four times as much cash in her campaign account, and she maintained the fundraising edge throughout the campaign. By mid-February, just before early voting began, Edwards had raised nearly $1.5 million to Jackson Lee’s $242,000 haul. She had also outspent Jackson Lee more than 2-to-1 and had almost three times as much cash on hand.

But Jackson Lee began raising money in earnest toward the end of the campaign, and she received late endorsements from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the weekend.

Texas’ 18th Congressional District covers downtown Houston, EaDo, Third Ward, Fifth Ward, parts of The Heights and Acres Homes. It also includes George Bush Intercontinental Airport and parts of northeast Houston and unincorporated Harris County.

Jackson Lee is expected to easily win reelection in November in the heavily Democratic district.