Isaiah Martin says it’s time for generational change in the 18th Congressional District

Sixteen people are vying to fill Houston’s 18th Congressional District seat, a position left vacant after the passing of Sylvester Turner in March.

All this week, KPRC 2 is introducing you to the top candidates hoping to serve out the remainder of Turner’s term. To keep things fair, we literally pulled names from a mug to decide who we feature each day.

Isaiah Martin is the youngest candidate in the race, he says it’s time for a fresh approach in Washington, D.C. representing the 18th District.

“Well, look, the same old same old is not working,” Martin said when asked why he’s running. “I mean, we see Congress is not working the way it is. We’ve got a crazy president that’s doing everything he can to destroy our way of life. I think we’ve got to go and stop a lot of the politics as usual that we’ve been seeing currently.”

Martin is a University of Houston graduate, native Houstonian, and former advisor to the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

This summer Martin was arrested in the Texas State Capitol during redistrict efforts. According to Martin’s social media video, he was forcibly taken to the ground during the incident. Travis County records show Martin faces misdemeanor charges including resisting arrest, criminal trespass, and disrupting a meeting or procession. The charges were later dropped.

He says this shows he’s the true fighter for the district. The encounter was used in one of his ads along with one where he says elected officials aren’t fighting hard enough. while holding up a skeleton, he says, “this is a spine. A lot of politicians can’t find theirs right now, when we need it most.”

Martin says too many politicians take voters for granted.

“So many of these politicians take people for granted. And what I can firmly say is that I will never take the people of the 18th congressional district for granted. I’m somebody that understands the issues, knows how the federal government works, and somebody that can bring a fresh perspective against a lot of this stuff.”

Top Issues: Cost of Living, Health Care, and Federal Funding

Martin identifies cost of living, health care, and federal funding as the biggest issues facing the district.

On economic issues, Martin says reducing tariffs and tackling rising grocery prices will be among his first priorities if elected.

“Well, look, everybody’s concerned about the cost of living. I mean, frankly, the tariffs have raised the cost of people’s groceries, like, nonstop. They see it all the time. They go and they understand their bills are higher. It’s because of Republican policies, “he said. “I want to immediately get to work to file a bill to go and ax the Trump tariffs as we see it, because I think it’s long overdue. People want to be able to investigate the rampant dollars that are being stolen away directly from our district.”

He also supports efforts to expand health care access and supports ‘Medicare for all,’ saying the cost of medical care has become a crisis.

“People are really, really sick by the fact that health care in this country costs as much as it does. We have one of the highest uninsured rates in the entire country. So, I will absolutely support legislation to guarantee universal healthcare for every single person in this county.”

Martin says his time in Congresswoman Jackson Lee’s office gave him firsthand experience in how to deliver resources back home

“We need somebody that understands how to get federal funding on day one, right? So, for us, because we haven’t been able to get so many community grant funding requests, because they haven’t had a member of Congress, there’s so many local organizations, non-profits or whatever that have not gotten their federal funding.”