A longtime Democratic lawmaker who made headlines for interrupting and waving his cane at President Donald Trump in March 2025 has been forced into a runoff election after a second-place finish in his Tuesday primary.
Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green, 79, won 44.2% of the vote in his primary race falling short of fellow Texas Democratic Rep. Christian Menefee, 37, who received 46.1%, with more than 95% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press. Since neither man won a majority of the vote, they will face each other in a head-to-head May 26 showdown.
Menefee entered Congress after winning a late January special election to represent Texas’ 18th district following the death of Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner. Green has represented the neighboring 9th district since 2004 – but he chose to face Menefee as Texas’s new GOP-friendly House map redrew his district as a safe Republican seat.Â
Green was removed from the House chamber during Trump’s 2026 State of the Union Address after holding up a sign reading “Black people aren’t monkeys.” The sign was in protest of an artificial intelligence (AI) video depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes that was live on Trump’s Truth Social account for almost 12 hours.
Green was also ejected from the floor during Trump’s joint address to Congress in 2025, during which Green heckled the president and shook his cane at him. The House, including 10 Democrats, censured the Texan for his behavior in a 224-198 vote.
Green filed articles of impeachment against Trump in December 2025 after Trump accused six Democratic lawmakers of “seditious behavior” after they posted a video calling on military members to refuse illegal orders.
The House voted overwhelmingly to table the articles in a 237 to 140 vote, with 47 Democrats voting “present.”
Menefee, who previously served as Harris County attorney, leveraged his background going toe to toe with Attorney General Ken Paxton — one of the two Republican senate candidates who advanced to a May 26 runoff — over immigrant rights. In November 2025 Paxton sued Harris County over allegations that using public funds for immigrants’ legal defenses violated the Texas Constitution. The court rejected the case and Menefee said the ruling affirmed the county’s authority to protect all residents.
The 37-year-old has advocated to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be abolished and ripped “down to studs.”
Menefee carried endorsements from Rep. Jasmine Crockett — who lost her own bid for the Democratic Senate primary — former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and Erica Lee Carter, the daughter of late Democratic Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represented the 18th district from 1995 until her death in 2024.
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