Rep. Al Green has tried to impeach President Donald Trump six times.
None of the efforts have succeeded. And now, Green is headed to a runoff on May 26 and remains in danger of losing his twelfth reelection race because of a new Texas map demanded by Trump allies that pits him against a fellow Democrat, Rep. Christian Menefee.
Menefee outpaced Green by almost 1,800 votes in the first round of balloting in Texas’s 18th House district with 99 percent of the votes reported, according to The Associated Press.
If he loses, it would be an ignominious end for Green, 79, as Menefee, 38, is part of a movement of younger Democrats seeking generational change in Washington.
Green is one of Trump’s chief antagonists in the House who was recently escorted from the chamber during Trump’s State of the Union address after he stood in the aisle holding a protest sign that read, “Black people aren’t apes!” — a direct critique of a video depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama in racist imagery that the White House shared on social media.
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Last year, Green was escorted from the chamber after he repeatedly interrupted and shouted within minutes of Trump’s speech. The House later voted to censure him.
House Democratic leaders haven’t always been supportive of Green’s antics. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., asked Democrats not to make a scene at the State of the Union, calling for “silent defiance.” Green did anything but. House Democratic leadership isn’t on board with the impeach Trump push.
Green first attempted to impeach Trump in 2017, during his first term, according to the Houston Chronicle, over what he alleged was tampering with the the FBI investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. In 2019, Green cited Trump’s comments and policy choices, as well as offensive comments he’d made about “women of color,” the Chronicle reported.
The latest attempt in early December — which was defeated by the House in 237 to 140 — was to punish Trump for suggesting that some lawmakers could be put to death for saying members of the military didn’t have to obey illegal orders.
“He is an abuser of presidential power,” Green said before the vote in a one-minute speech, per the Chronicle. “He has conducted himself in office such that persons are now threatening members of the judiciary, threatening members of the House of Representatives, threatening members of the Senate. Donald John Trump should never hold any office of public trust ever again.”
New map
The new Texas congressional map has reshaped district boundaries in a way that could put some Democratic incumbents at risk, including Green and Rep. Julie Johnson.
Last year, the Texas Legislature approved the map designed to give Republicans an advantage in the midterm House elections. That plan targeted several Democratic incumbents by altering districts to be more favorable to GOP candidates. In doing so, they put some Democratic incumbents in the bind of having to challenge one another.
A federal court initially ruled the map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, but the Supreme Court temporarily allowed Texas to use the new map for the 2026 elections. Under that map, districts were reconfigured drastically, which could help Republicans win five more House seats in November. As a result, some Democratic incumbents opted to run in neighboring districts rather than face tougher challenges.
Over the past two decades, Green has won re-election often by large margins. While he ran unopposed in 2024, he won re-election by roughly 76% of the vote in the 2022 general election, about 75% of votes in 2020 and 89% of votes in 2018.
Green’s current district has been redrawn to be much more Republican — far from his traditional base in southwest Houston. To adapt, he is now running in the newly drawn 18th Congressional District, which contains much of the old 9th Congressional District territory and most of his existing constituents.
But it also means a competitive Democratic primary against another incumbent and the newest House Democrat, Rep. Christian Menefee, 37, who won a special election to fill the vacant seat of Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died last year. Menefee was sworn in on Feb. 2. He previously served as county attorney for Harris County, Texas.
In Dallas County, Johnson, 59, is currently serving the 32nd District, which has been turned into Republican-leaning territory that stretches into east Texas. Because the new seat heavily favors the GOP, Johnson decided to seek re-election in the newly drawn 33rd District.
Johnson’s decision set up a high-profile primary contest against former Rep. Colin Allred, a Senate nominee. Allred, 42, represented Texas’ 32nd District from 2019 to 2025. After dropping his Senate bid in December and announcing another run for Congress, Allred also shifted into the 33rd District.
Early polling suggests Allred has an advantage in the primary race that could send him back to the House in November.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at CNN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.