Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) is projected to defeat Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) in the Democratic primary runoff for the Houston-based 18th Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ. The outcome ends a contentious intraparty battle that highlighted generational tensions within the party.
Menefee, 37, who won a special election in January to fill the remainder of the late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term, now heads to a general election that the Cook Political Report rates as solidly Democratic. The district’s heavy Democratic tilt all but guarantees Menefee a full term in Congress come November.
The runoff was triggered after neither Menefee nor Green secured more than 50 percent of the vote in the March 3 primary. Green, 78, has served in the House for over two decades and was a vocal critic of President Trump, but faced a tough challenge from a younger rival amid broader calls for generational change in Texas Democratic politics.
The contest was shaped by Texas Republicans’ controversial mid-decade redistricting plan, which redrew Green’s former 9th Congressional District to favor GOP candidates. That map, which created multiple new pickup opportunities for Republicans ahead of the midterms, forced Green to run in the more safely blue 18th District, setting up a direct clash with Menefee.
Green’s tenure was marked by high-profile protests against Trump. He was censured last year after disrupting the president’s address to Congress and was escorted out of Trump’s State of the Union address this year. Those actions resonated with some progressive voters but did not outweigh the push for a new generation of leadership.
The race also reflected a broader trend in Texas, where the deaths of senior Democrats Sylvester Turner and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in recent years have accelerated calls for younger candidates to step up. Menefee’s victory signals a shift in the party’s bench in the state.
As the general election approaches, Menefee is expected to coast to victory in a district that has not elected a Republican in decades. The runoff results also come amid live coverage of other Texas runoffs, including high-profile contests for attorney general and state House seats.
For Green, the defeat marks the end of a long congressional career that began in 2005. His departure from the House will leave a void in Houston’s political landscape, as Menefee prepares to take the reins in a district that has been a Democratic stronghold for generations.
