Gov. Greg Abbott hasn’t said when, or if, he will set a special election for a U.S. House seat in San Antonio that has been vacant for almost 60 days.

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, resigned from Congress on April 14, leaving nearly 800,000 people in South Texas with no voice on Capitol Hill as they’re confronting a growing crisis.

The first cases of a parasite called the New World Screwworm were recently detected on South Texas cattle ranches located in the 23rd Congressional District, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso. The flesh-eating larvae could wreak havoc on ranchers, and federal authorities are rushing to stop the spread.

Abbott hasn’t said why he’s delayed setting a special election, but the delicate balance of power in the U.S. House might explain the problem. Republicans hold a 4-seat majority, meaning just two Republican defections can kill a bill.

While the 23rd District has been held by Republicans for over 10 years, Democrats have been winning special elections all over the nation in recent months, even in districts where the GOP has dominated.

As governor, Abbott has the sole discretion set the special election to fill the seat.

Republican Brandon Herrera and Democrat Katy Padilla Stout are running in the Nov. 3 general election to replace Gonzales, but the winner will not be sworn into Congress until January. That would mean the seat would go vacant for more than 265 days – the second longest congressional vacancy since the beginning of 2025. The longest vacancy also came from Texas. Abbott waited so long to set a special election for the 18th Congressional District in Houston that it went 334 days without representation.

“Greg Abbott is leaving TX-23 vacant because he knows Democrats could win it in a special election,” Menefee said on Tuesday. “He has no shame.”

On the same day Gonzales resigned, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., also stepped down. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has already set a special election in August.

Padilla Stout said that because of the screwworm discoveries, Abbott should be moving faster to make sure the region has a voice in Congress.

“I believe leaving 800,000 constituents without representation is an emergency,” Padilla Stout said in an interview. 

Herrera hasn’t pushed Abbott to call a special election, but on social media, he has been pushing the federal government to do more to address the screwworm outbreak.

“The time to act was years ago,” Herrera said on X.