Two incumbents forced into rare primary battle
Christian Menefee defeated Al Green in Tuesday's Democratic primary runoff for Texas' 18th Congressional District, ending a 20-year career for one of the House's most vocal Trump critics. The race pitted two sitting representatives against each other after Republican-controlled state lawmakers redrew congressional districts at President Trump's request, merging parts of their Houston-area districts into a single seat.
The redistricting created five additional seats favorable to Republicans across Texas. Green, who has represented the 9th Congressional District since 2005, chose to run in the newly drawn 18th after his old seat became more Republican leaning. Menefee, sworn in as a House member in February after winning a special election, faced the incumbent in what NBC News described as a rare incumbent-on-incumbent matchup sparked by Republican-led redistricting efforts.
The vote and the margin
Menefee received 68.6 percent of the vote, or 21,678 votes, while Green received 31.4 percent with 9,930 votes, according to the Associated Press. The AP called the election about 30 minutes after polls closed Tuesday. In the March primary, Menefee had led with 46 percent compared with Green's 44 percent, forcing both candidates into the runoff since neither secured more than 50 percent.
Age and generational shift
The 38-year-old Menefee's victory marks a generational shift in a district that has elected Black representatives for more than 50 years, beginning with Barbara Jordan in 1973. Green, 78, was seeking a 12th term. The age difference loomed large over the race as younger Democrats push for a new generation of candidates, particularly given the district's recent turmoil. Her successor, Sylvester Turner, died in March 2025 after taking office in January. The seat remained vacant for most of the last two years.
Campaign spending and crypto controversy
Outside spending shaped the race significantly. Menefee benefited from more than $5 million in outside spending from Protect Progress, a super PAC aligned with cryptocurrency industry leaders. Outgoing Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate, appeared in one of the group's ads supporting Menefee. Green harshly criticized the flood of megadonor money, saying Menefee made a "deal with the devil" for accepting campaign contributions from the crypto super PAC. Menefee called Green's comments "desperate" and said they came from someone who had "been in office 20 years and they were down on the first ballot."
Trump antagonism and the general election
Green has been known as a Trump antagonist, introducing articles of impeachment against the president in his first and second term. The House voted in 2025 to censure him for disrupting President Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress. Both candidates made standing up to Trump a key campaign issue. Menefee, who previously served as Harris County attorney, pointed to lawsuits his office filed against the Trump administration as proof of his opposition.
Menefee will face Republican nominee Ronald Whitfield, a political newcomer, in November. The 18th District has remained reliably blue after redistricting, making Menefee's general election victory all but certain.
