I am deeply grateful to the constituents for their faith in me which was exercised with their vote for my re-election. I will continue to work hard to both empower them and improve the quality of life for all residents of the 18th Congressional District.

As of late Tuesday, the veteran lawmaker had about 68 percent of the vote, fending off a challenge by Johnson that featured claims that Jackson Lee’s showboating style had impaired her ability to deliver for her hard-pressed inner city district.

Jackson Lee also defeated a political newcomer, Houston attorney Sean Roberts. Votes counted as of 10:30 p.m, showed she likely would face GOP challenger John Faulk, an accountant, in the predominantly Democratic district.

“The job is not finished. We promise you a fight in Washington to bring good health care to this district and to preserve NASA and the jobs that are ours,” Jackson Lee told supporters Tuesday night.

“Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is a tireless champion for Houston’s working families,” said President Obama. “That’s why we need her back in Congress to help my efforts to bring real jobs back to Houston and the nation. I need you to cast your vote for Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.”

“I am grateful and humbled to receive this endorsement from President Obama,” said Jackson Lee. “When he asked me to campaign for him, I found it so rewarding to see the outpouring of support for the change he represented and now he is the change agent that America and Houston needs today. I am proud to be working with President Barack Obama as we work to change lives for the better.

“Now that he is in office, it is exciting to work with President Obama on the many important issues facing our country,” the Congresswoman continued. “Now more than ever, I am grateful for the President’s trust and confidence in me.”

President Obama joins a long list of individuals and organizations endorsing Congresswoman Jackson Lee for re-election. See a complete list on her Endorsements page.

Congresswoman Jackson Lee has been at the forefront of bringing jobs and federal funds to her district and the general Houston area. Jackson Lee has won 125 grants totaling $351,000 from the federal stimulus bill for Congressional District 18. This is the fourth-largest amount of funds brought to a district by a Texas Member of Congress.

The Congresswoman initiated the re-start of the local senior home repair program and spoke out about the backlog of thousands of requests for repairs. She has brought in $2.5 million for that program, along with millions more for a weatherization program. She also authored amendments to bills protecting the elderly that will help local law enforcement find seniors lost because of Alzheimer’s and other illnesses. Jackson Lee has received a perfect 100% rating from the Alliance for Retired Americans, a nationwide organization of more than 2.5 million union retirees.

Sheila Jackson Lee cares about our veterans. The Congresswoman has won a million dollars for Riverside Hospital to set up a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment center for our veterans, the first one in a predominantly African American community. And when 66-year-old Houstonian C.B. Black asked Jackson Lee for help replacing the medals he had won while serving in Viet Nam, the Congresswoman got him those medals, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

In addition to the Riverside funding, the Congresswoman has also brought half a million dollars to the University of Texas in the Medical Center for a Minority Cancer Control Program and $1 million for the Prostate Cancer Outreach Project at the Center for Research on Minority Health.

As the chair of the Congressional Children’s Caucus, Jackson Lee has fought for bills to make our children and schools safer. In fact, it was the Congresswoman who brought the Centers for Disease Control to Houston when something at Key Middle School was making teachers and students sick.

She won $2 million for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Initiative, to encourage our kids to study science and math, and a $1 million grant for after-school programs in Houston schools, part of a total $1.7 billion dollars for improving schools and colleges. Those higher education funds include $400,000 for the University of Houston for teacher training and $3000 for archive preservation at TSU’s Mickey Leland Center. Most importantly, Jackson Lee got the federal government to cancel the $11 million TSU owed so that university can now move forward without that debt hanging over it.

Hurricanes Ike, Katrina and Rita affected the Houston area severely but Jackson Lee was there, getting supplies distributed to her district and bringing millions in federal assistance to the community. Just last month, the Congresswoman brought to Houston the FEMA director and asked him to extend relief to 20,000 local residents still recovering from Ike.

Jackson Lee has risen to senior positions on powerful committees, including Judiciary, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security and chairs Homeland Security’s Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Sub-Committee.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee works for District 18 and she delivers.

Attending a news conference at Jackson Lee’s Campaign Headquarters were State Representatives Alma Allen and Sylvester Turner, State Senator Mario Gallegos, Constable May Walker, Houston Community College Trustee Chris Oliver and Houston School District Trustees Paula Harris and Lawrence Marshall. State Senator Rodney Ellis was unable to attend but sent a representative.

“These elected officials here today are just a small fraction of those who are supporting the Congresswoman,” said Rep. Turner. “At our Acres Homes seniors meeting yesterday, our seniors just lit up when they saw the Congresswoman, she has done so much for them.”

Harris pointed out that Houston needs a representative in Washington who knows her way around. “I know that when we call on Congresswoman Jackson Lee to help our school districts that she is always there for our children,” said Harris.

“In Precinct 7, Congresswoman Jackson Lee has done what no one else ever did,” explained Constable Walker. “She helped to put more officers on the streets and they’re working to stop drugs and sex offenders.”

Marshall said Jackson Lee is “certified, qualified and capable. This is not the time to trade in a 747 for a Piper Cub.”

“Congresswoman Jackson Lee has been nothing short of tireless, dedicated and hardworking,” said Oliver. “We need experience at the helm.”

“She has always been there for us,” said Rep. Allen. “Now we are there for her.”

All the elected officials at the news conference today represent different jurisdictions and she works with all of them, Jackson Lee pointed out. For example, she worked with Oliver to help HCC create a small business incubator. And she worked with Turner to create a park in Acres Homes with baseball fields. Gallegos pointed out that he and Jackson Lee had just left a meeting with officials of the Rodeo Houston working with them to offer minorities more scholarships and business opportunities.

Those projects are in addition to the $351 million Jackson Lee brought to Congressional District 18 from the federal stimulus bill.

The news conference today follows an event Thursday with Congressman Al Green and three dozen ministers, including the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Vicinity, offering their strong support for Jackson Lee.

Others endorsing Jackson Lee include the Houston Chronicle, Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia; Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia; State Senator John Whitmire; State Representatives Carol Alvarado, Garnet Coleman, Ellen Cohen, Harold Dutton; Jessica Farrar, Senfronia Thompson and Armando Walle; City Controller Ron Green; City Councilmembers C.O. Bradford and Ed Gonzales; Constable Victor Trevino; HISD Trustee Carol Mims Galloway; Houston Community College Trustees Eva Loredo and Mary Ann Perez; Vice Chair of the Texas Democratic Party Lenora Sorola-Pohlman; Alison Leland and former State Representatives Debra Danburg and Col. Rick Noriega; the Tejano Democrats, Houston-Black American Democrats, AFL-CIO Council, the Latino Labor Leadership Council, Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas Action Fund, Inc., GLBT Caucus, Harris County Democrats, Momentum PAC, Asian American Democrats of Texas, Houston Area Stonewall Democrats and Houston Young Stonewall Democrats.

Photo ID for Elected Officials: (L to R) St. Rep. Sylvester Turner, Dallas Jones representing State Senator Rodney Ellis, St. Rep. Alma Allen, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, HCC Trustee Chris Oliver, HISD Trustee Lawrence Marshall, HISD Trustee Paula Harris, Constable May Walker, St. Senator Mario Gallegos.

In a presentation at Forest Brook Middle School, Jackson Lee handed over the million dollar check from BP North America, whom she convinced to make the contribution to the district as it promotes science and math curriculums. The Congresswoman believes in public-private partnerships that benefit everyone.

Jackson Lee even brought to the presentation via phone Dr. Mae Jemison, the first female African American astronaut. To promote both science and to celebrate Black History Month, Jemison promised to help North Forest with its efforts to improve the quality of its instruction and to use technology to teach.

This donation is just the latest example of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee supporting the 18th Congressional District and its constituents through funding and jobs. Jackson Lee was one of the most successful Texas representatives in winning federal dollars for programs and jobs for her district from the federal stimulus bill: 125 grants for more than $351 million. The total rises to $378 million when the omnibus spending bill is added. And that’s just two bills.

For example, that total doesn’t count the billion dollars coming to METRO this year, the $11 million debt faced by Texas Southern University that was forgiven by the federal government thanks to Jackson Lee’s efforts, or the million dollars going to Riverside General Hospital for a Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome Center for our veterans. (For more examples of Jackson Lee’s successes, check out her Facebook page or read her website.

This is a remarkable record by anyone’s standard, especially when compared to Jackson Lee’s two opponents. While both have criticized the Congresswoman, neither can point to a record like hers or can outline specific plans for emulating her successes. City Councilmember Jarvis Johnson has a mediocre record of winning projects for his district in the city’s Capital Improvements Plan. And Sean Roberts, who does not even live in District 18, has no record of bringing dollars to the district.

That is not to say she has not sparked controversy and drawn criticism from various media and a minority of her constituents. Issues included her penchant for using public events like Michael Jackson’s funeral for photo ops, her support for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary in 2008, and a high-handed management style that regularly contributed to one of the highest staff turnover rates on Capitol Hill.

This year, two Democratic challengers, Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson and attorney Sean Roberts, are campaigning hard against Jackson Lee on her home turf, forcing the incumbent to wage a serious re-election effort for the first time. While they differ with her on few issues, both accuse Jackson Lee of losing focus and placing higher priorities on political appearances rather than substantial legislative achievements.

The congresswoman counters that she has been a hardworking advocate for the interests of her liberal district that ranges from gentrifying inner-city areas like the Heights to solidly African-American precincts in Third Ward and southeast Houston. Over time, and with the Democratic takeover of the House, Jackson Lee has accumulated seniority and influence on a number of congressional committees and says she has used that added influence to help bring billions of federal dollars to the Houston area. She serves on the House Judiciary, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees. She cites her role in winning federal funding for veterans’ services in the 18th, including a grant for a post-traumatic stress disorder center at Riverside Hospital.

According to Jackson Lee, she has been a member of Congress who has “both acted in the district on behalf of constituents and internationally.” The congresswoman recently accompanied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a visit to quake-devastated Haiti.

Although Jackson Lee is a strong supporter of President Obama, she disagrees with his plan to eliminate NASA’s Constellation program that would favor developing new rockets and spacecraft to return to the moon.

“I support human spaceflight,” says the incumbent, who promises to work to get more congressional funding for NASA and to convince the administration that the Constellation program has merit.

The Chronicle urges primary voters to nominate Jackson Lee for a ninth term.

“We must embrace opportunities for minority business to grow to make sure the 18th congressional district can grow, but it first must grow with its family, its educational system and certainly with its jobs,” said Houston Councilmember Jarvis Johnson, who’s challenging Jackson Lee.

“I walk what I talk,” said attorney Sean Roberts, also going for Jackson Lee’s seat. “I’m moving my office out off downtown into the Third Ward because I want to spark economic development and that’s not going to come from the government folks. That’s going to come from us.”

Johnson and Roberts debated only each other at first. Jackson Lee later joined them after returning from a trip to Haiti. She said she wanted to be a part of the debate.

“My service has been to respond and to be responsive to the 18th congressional district,” she said. “Thank you for allowing me to serve you during this time frame.”