Christian Menefee defeats longtime Democratic Rep. Al Green in Texas House district, CBS News projects

Rep. Christian Menefee bested Rep. Al Green in Tuesday’s Democratic primary runoff in Texas’ newly drawn 18th Congressional District, CBS News projects. 

The incumbent Democrats had parts of their Houston-area districts merged as a result of last year’s gerrymandering. At the request of President Trump, the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature redrew congressional districts to create five additional seats favorable to Republicans, and the Supreme Court allowed the state to move forward with the new map. 

In a statement on Tuesday, Menefee said the victory “belongs to the people of this district.” 

“You have shown up over and over, and every single time, you have chosen to fight for a better future for our communities,” he said. “I do not take that for granted for one second. This is your victory, and I will spend every day in Washington making sure it means something.”

Green, who has represented the 9th Congressional District since 2005, decided to run in the 18th District after the new congressional map moved the 9th District’s boundaries to make it more Republican leaning. 

The 18th District has remained reliably blue after redistricting, making it all but certain that Menefee wins the general election in November. 

Menefee’s stint in Congress has been short.  He was sworn in as a House member in February, replacing Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died in March of last year, just weeks into his first term. Turner had succeeded Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in July 2024 while in office. 

With the back-to-back deaths of the district’s representative, who were both in their 70s, age loomed large over the race, especially as younger Democrats push for a new generation of candidates. Green is 78, while Menefee is 38. 

In the March primary, Menefee led with 46% of the vote compared with Green’s 44%. But neither secured more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff. 

Green has been known as a Trump antagonist, introducing articles of impeachment against the president in his first and second term. The House voted last year to censure him for disrupting President Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress.