Freshman Rep. Christian Menefee defeated longtime Rep. Al Green in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, according to a projection from NBC News. The result ends an incumbent-on-incumbent fight created by Republican-led redistricting and hands Menefee a fast rise that began with his special-election win earlier in 2026.
Menefee, who was sworn into Congress after replacing the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, took 46% of the vote on March 3 and Green took 44%, forcing a runoff because neither candidate won a majority. Green was seeking a 12th term in Congress after his old 9th District was redrawn into a more Republican seat and he was shifted into the deep-blue Houston-based 18th District.
The contest quickly became a proxy fight over money in politics. Menefee said campaign finance laws should be changed to ban super PACs, while Green attacked the flood of megadonor money in the race. Menefee said, “We’ve built incredible momentum without taking any corporate PAC dollars,” and added, “At the same time, I believe Citizens United was a mistake and should be overturned, and not a single super PAC should exist.”
That message came with a pile of cash attached. More than $5 million in outside spending from the crypto-aligned super PAC Protect Progress benefited Menefee, and The Texas Tribune reported that a cryptocurrency super PAC spent more than $4 million on his behalf. The same report said the race became the most expensive House runoff in Texas. Menefee reported raising more than $2 million in the special election that sent him to Congress in a late January runoff, and more than $850,000 since then. Green, by comparison, has raised $1.4 million since the start of the cycle in January 2025.
Menefee’s donors include Houston billionaire philanthropist John Arnold and trial lawyer and megadonor Amber Mostyn. Green has been backed by former Houston Metro chair Carrin Patman, HillCo lobbying firm cofounder Bill Miller and healthcare executive Tahir Javed, along with PAC donations from United Airlines and beer wholesaler, credit union and realtor groups, and several unions. Menefee is 38 and Green is 78.
The runoff also landed in a district with a long, and now disrupted, history of Black representation. The seat had a Black representative for more than 50 years starting with Barbara Jordan in 1973, when she became the first Black woman from the South elected to the House. The district later lost longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in July 2024. Erica Lee Carter was sworn in the following November to finish her term, Sylvester Turner took office in January 2025, and he died months later.
That churn has left the district in near-constant transition, and Menefee’s victory makes him the latest beneficiary of a seat still unsettled by redistricting, deaths and special elections. For Green, the loss blocks a bid for a 12th term. For Menefee, it turns a short stay in Congress into a longer one, with the Houston Democrat now positioned to serve the district’s next chapter.
