Texas Republicans claimed the first casualty of their redrawn House map with the landslide defeat of Democratic Rep. Al Green in a primary runoff Tuesday night.
Green, 78, who had served in Congress since 2005 representing Texas’ Ninth District, lost to Democratic Texas Rep. Christian Menefee, 38, after their districts were merged under the Lone Star State’s GOP-backed redistricting plan, which seeks to flip up to five House seats from blue to red. Menefee won 68.6% of the vote in the redrawn 18th district to Green’s 31.4% with 61% of ballots counted, according to The Associated Press.
The defeated lawmaker holds the distinction of being ejected from speeches President Donald Trump gave to Congress two years in a row. House floor staff escorted Green out of the House chamber during Trump’s February State of the Union. The Democrat was carrying a sign bearing the words “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES,” in all capital letters. The sign was a reference to a largely AI-generated video Trump’s account posted to Truth Social earlier that month showing the faces of President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle superimposed onto cartoon ape bodies.
In March 2025, Green interrupted and shouted at Trump during the president’s speech to a joint session of Congress. GOP lawmakers chanted “USA!” to drown him out. House Speaker Mike Johnson gave the Texas Democrat a stern warning that he is “to uphold and maintain the quorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions.” However, Green refused to sit down prompting the speaker to eject him from the chamber.
Green has also tried and failed to impeach Trump six times across the president’s two terms in office. In December 2025, the House overwhelmingly voted to table two articles of impeachment Green filed against the president for purported “abuse of power and incitement of violence and death threats against lawmakers and federal judges.” Twenty-three Democrats voted with Republicans and 47 Democrats, including the party’s House leadership, voted “present.”
“Donald John Trump’s pattern of threatening rhetoric, disregard for democratic norms, and harmful behavior towards lawmakers and federal judges cannot be ignored,” the congressman said in a statement after his articles were voted down. Green cited Trump’s reaction to a video of six Democratic members of Congress calling for the military and intelligence agencies to disobey the president’s “illegal orders,” to justify his recent impeachment push.
Menefee only started serving in Congress in February, after winning a special election to replace the late Democratic Texas Rep. Sylvester Turner in the old 18th District. Green’s old seat, was dismantled under the GOP-drawn mid-decade map, which drew the Ninth district as a solidly Republican seat.
The two Houston-area incumbents initially faced off against each other during the March 3 primary with Menefee edging out Green by just under two percentage points. However, since neither Democrat received a majority of the vote, a runoff was held Tuesday.
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