Amanda Edwards (born January 19, 1982) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. The Council has sixteen members: eleven from council districts and five elected at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, wi ...

from 2016 to 2020. She was a candidate for the

2020 United States Senate election in Texas The 2020 United States Senate election in Texas was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member to the United States Senate to represent the Texas, State of Texas, concurrently with the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 U.S. pr ...

in the Democratic primary and briefly ran in the

2023 Houston mayoral election The 2023 Houston mayoral election was held on November 7, 2023, with a runoff on December 9 because no candidate won a majority of the vote in the first round. It was held to elect the mayor of Houston, Texas. Incumbent Democratic mayor Sylve ...

before making a pivot to run for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Education and early career

Edwards was born and raised in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. After graduating from

Eisenhower High School Eisenhower High School can refer to the following schools in the United States: * Eisenhower High School (Rialto, California) * Eisenhower High School (Blue Island, Illinois) * Eisenhower High School (Decatur, Illinois) * Eisenhower High School (K ...

, she continued on to

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. While at Emory, Edwards served as president of the undergraduate student body and was later inducted into the Emory University Hall of Fame. She also spent her time at Emory assisting Georgia State Senator Connie Stokes. After graduating from Emory, Edwards moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and began working for Congresswoman

Sheila Jackson Lee Sheila Jackson Lee ( Jackson; January 12, 1950 – July 19, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician who was the U.S. representative for , from 1995 until her death in 2024. The district includes most of central Houston. She was a member of ...

. From there, she went on to attain a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. Edwards became a Criminal Justice Institute student attorney. She was also recognized with the Elaine Osborne Jacobson Award for her work in supporting underserved communities in healthcare law. This was in addition to her duties as the Co-Chair of the Harvard Black Law Students Association Spring Conference. After graduation, her interest in public service led Edwards to relocate to New Orleans in the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, where she served as a judicial law clerk for Federal District Court Judge

Ivan Lemelle Ivan L. R. Lemelle (born June 29, 1950) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Early life and education Born in Opelousas, Louisiana, Lemelle received a Bachelor of S ...

. While in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Edwards founded Project NOW: The New Orleans Writing Project to teach New Orleans Youth use writing as a tool of empowerment after Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately, Edwards returned to Houston, where she practiced as a municipal finance attorney. She has focused primarily on public finance, involving bond issuances, government partnerships, non-profit organizations, and community-development organizations.

Public office

Houston City Council

Edwards ran for Houston City Council in 2015 for At-Large Position 4 and won, succeeding C.O. Bradford. In the runoff, she received more votes than anyone in the municipal election, including the mayor,

Sylvester Turner Sylvester Turner (September 27, 1954 – March 5, 2025) was an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from January 2025 until his death in March 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democra ...

. During her tenure, Edwards served on the Transportation, Technology, and Infrastructure Committee and the Economic Development Committee; additionally, she was the Vice Chair of the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee. In the spring of 2016, Edwards authored an amendment for the city's annual budget process to create a task force for innovation and technology. She helped lead the efforts of the Task Force, which recommended, among other things, the creation of an innovation district. This new site, The Ion, supports the business district and accelerate investment in innovative technologies. She also pushed efforts for the City of Houston to commence smart city planning. In addition to her work to support the innovation economy, Edwards initiated the creation of and led the Women- and Minority-Owned Business Task Force to identify ways to increase access to capital for women- and minority-owned businesses. Edwards also served as the Co-Vice Chair of the High-Capacity Transit Task Force (a group organized under the Houston-Galveston Area Council) where she advocated for high capacity transit options for the 8 county Houston-Galveston region. This was alongside her proposal for the addition of light rail and rapid transit options to ease congestion on Houston's highways. While on the Houston City Council, Edwards continued in disaster relief efforts after Houston was struck by

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

. She mobilized hundreds of volunteers to assist Harvey survivors by connecting them with help for flood damage, providing emergency supplies, case management and more. Edwards launched the Council Member Edwards’ Community Empowerment Signature Series to empower Houstonians to “be the solution” with respect to issues impacting their respective communities. This series provided programmatic opportunities ranging from senior conferences to film screenings and townhalls that served to educate, empower, and equip members of the community with the tools and the drive necessary for enacting positive change.

2020 U.S. Senate race

In 2020, Edwards announced that she was running for

John Cornyn John Cornyn III ( ; born February 2, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. ...

's US Senate seat in the

. After announcing, she was identified by local media as one of the seven candidates to watch in a crowded race with 12 declared candidates. Edwards placed fifth in the primary election with 10.14% of the vote.

2023 Houston mayoral campaign and 2024 U.S. House campaigns

Edwards briefly in the

but withdrew and endorsed

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

following her campaign announcement. Edwards instead pivoted to run for the U.S. House; stating that she intended to remain a candidate even after Jackson Lee announced her intention to run for re-election. Edwards lost the primary election to Jackson Lee, placing second with 37.3% of the vote. On July 19, 2024, Jackson Lee died due to complications from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. Edwards announced her intention to run for the Democratic nomination for the seat, which was selected by the Harris County Democratic Party executive committee. Edwards lost in the second round of the nomination convention, four votes behind former

Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Qualifications, election, and terms To file to run for mayor, a person must be a qualified voter of the city of Houston, and have h ...

— who also died while in office on March 5, 2025.

Personal life

Amanda Edwards is the founder of a nonprofit, Be The Solution: Community Empowerment Organization, which effectively advocates and empowers various groups ranging from senior citizens to women. Amanda serves on the advisory council of Accelerator for America and has served on the board of directors for

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an American advocacy organization that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a membership organization provi ...

, Houston Exponential and

Project Row Houses Project Row Houses is a development in the Third Ward, Houston, Third Ward area of Houston, Texas. Project Row Houses includes a group of shotgun houses restored in the 1990s. Eight houses serve as studios for visiting artists. Those houses are ...

. Edwards is a member of the Houston Chapter of

The Links The Links is an American social and service organization of prominent black women. It was founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of 2025, it has 299 chapters and more than 17,000 members in the United States and other countries.. Its ...

, and a member of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is an List of African American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha ...

sorority. She is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Electoral history

2024

2020

2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Amanda 1982 births Living people 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century Roman Catholics African-American candidates for the United States Senate African-American Catholics African-American city council members in Texas American Roman Catholics Candidates in the 2020 United States Senate elections Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections Catholic politicians from Texas Emory University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Houston City Council members Members of The Links Texas Democrats Women city councillors in Texas