HOUSTON — Age is playing a factor in Texas’s 18th congressional district race, with 78-year-old Rep. Al Green (D-TX) facing 37-year-old Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX).
The longtime Houston Democrat is facing an uphill primary on March 3 against the newest member of Congress, Menefee, after Green was drawn out of his district by the Trump-backed redistricting effort that passed the state last year.
Texas’s 18th district is currently represented by Menefee, who won the seat just last month to fill the remainder of the late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term through next January. Turner suddenly passed nearly a year ago at age 70.
And with Green having served in Congress for 20 years, the seasoned lawmaker will have to convince Houston voters he’s not done in Washington, as many Houston voters are looking for a change from the status quo. The Washington Examiner visited Houston polling locations, where nearly every voter emphasized that while they appreciate the work Green has done, it is time to turn a new leaf.
“I think right now folks won’t change, right now they want change,” Houston voter Javon Blair told the Washington Examiner. “They want somebody young, innovative—Christian Menefee. If you speak to those that value and not just young and innovative, you have to understand, he is a symbol of change.”
Menefee has been leading Green in the polls, showing a 24-point lead among likely voters from a University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs poll released earlier this month.
36-year-old Carolyn Waller said she was voting for Menefee because she wanted someone she “can relate to, younger, understandable, someone that’s not just left out,” she went on to say Green has been doing it for a long time, but it’s time to “let somebody else get in there and try to do something, make a change.”
From his protests at Trump’s last two State of the Union addresses to his calls for impeachment, Green has gained a reputation for pushing back against the president in outspoken ways. But his fighter mentality may not be enough for what Houston Democrats are looking for as their representation in the lower chamber.
Even Democratic strategists are wary of whether his impeachment push will resonate with Democratic voters after the party’s massive 2024 loss.
“It’s going to be very interesting to see if that is indeed an effective message,” Democratic operative Jon Reinish told the Washington Examiner.
CEO of Girl and the Gov, Sammy Kanter, explained to the Washington Examiner that even if the impeachment messaging resonates, it is an unrealistic goal.
“There’s a forgetfulness that we’ve impeached Trump twice, and then he has continued to be in office that first term, right? So the effectiveness of that tool doesn’t have the teeth, because it’s not followed through on in completion,” Kanter said.
Waller shared a similar sentiment, saying she is not one to push for the president’s removal.
Green’s resistance to Trump was on full display on Tuesday during Trump’s State of the Union address when the Houston Democrat was escorted out of the House chamber after he held up a sign that read, “Black people aren’t apes.”
Green said the sign, which multiple Republican members tried to pull down, was his response to an alleged deepfake AI video displaying the Obamas as apes on Trump’s Truth Social that was later taken down and criticized by many Republicans.
“I wanted the president to see it, and he saw it, and I told him, Black people are not apes, and for him to do what he did was racist, and he knows it,” Green told CNN after being escorted out.
“At some point, you cannot let racism continue,” Green added. “If you tolerate it, you perpetuate it. I refuse to tolerate racism. The president needs to know Black people aren’t apes, and that he should have apologized for what he did.”
His ejection from the chamber was the second time Green was removed from a Trump speech to Congress. Green was censured nearly a year ago after repeatedly interrupting Trump’s joint address.
The Texas Democrat has also filed multiple articles of impeachment against the president in both his first and second terms, with none of his resolutions being successful so far.
“I take no delight in proclaiming President Donald Trump is ‘an abuser of presidential power’ who is endangering invidious hate, putting Americans’ lives at risk, undermining democracy, and dissolving our Republic,” Green wrote in a letter calling for Trump’s impeachment last December following Trump reposting a post calling for a handful of members of Congress to be executed.
“At this critical moment in history, we must do more than confront the subordinate question of what he will do—we must also confront the superior question of what we will do,” he continued.
Menefee did not attend Trump’s address on Tuesday, his first one in Congress, but instead spent the night in Houston at two community events. The 37-year-old Democrat was out at early voting polling locations Friday, talking to voters as they walked through the parking lot.
“The feedback we’re getting out here from folks on the ground is fantastic. We are just a few days away from Election Day, and I am glad that we are almost to a conclusion, so I can get to work for people in D.C.,” Menefee told the Washington Examiner.
While many Houston voters have turned their sights to Menefee, some Houstonians believe Green is what is best for their district.
“He’s the most experienced, especially with the things that’re going on now, I think he can kind of help solve the turmoil weaving at this point,” 87-year-old Tommy Erwin told the Washington Examiner.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Green’s office for comment.
