Rep. Al Green
U.S. Rep. Al Green announced Friday that he plans to run in the redrawn 18th Congressional District, setting up a competitive primary between the longtime Houston Democrat and whichever candidate wins the upcoming special election runoff to decide the seat’s occupant through the end of next year.
Green began his speech not by talking about himself, but of President Donald Trump.
“This democracy belongs to the people, it doesn’t belong to one man,” Green said from a Southwest Houston hotel. “He is an authoritarian, and we are going to make sure that he knows that the people in the 18th Congressional District are going to send somebody to Congress that he fears.”
Green has been a strong advocate of the effort to impeach Trump, and he said continuing to criticize the president will be one of his priorities if he secures another term in Congress — but he’s facing a crowded race.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, both Democrats, finished atop a field of 16 candidates in Tuesday’s election to fill out the remainder of late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term representing the district under its old lines. Green plans to run in the March primary, which will be held under the 18th District’s new boundaries created by Republicans’ mid-cycle redistricting this summer. Menefee has already announced he plans to run in the March primary, which will take place weeks after the runoff. Edwards has yet to reveal her plans beyond the special election.
Green has represented Texas’ 9th Congressional District — anchored in the southern parts of Houston — since 2005. But that district was redrawn by Texas Republicans in their new congressional map to favor the GOP, and its boundaries were moved to eastern Harris County and Liberty County, pulling in almost none of the same area as before. The new 9th Congressional District went from voting for Kamala Harris in 2024 by 44 percentage points to one that President Donald Trump would have carried by a 20-point margin under the new lines.
Much of Green’s turf in the old 9th District was drawn into the new 18th District, including Central Southwest Houston, NRG Stadium and Missouri City. It’s a deep-blue district with a long history of Black representation, having sent titans including former Reps. Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland. The new 18th District would have voted for Harris by a 54-point margin in 2024 had it existed.
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In August, Green heavily hinted that he planned to run in the 18th District, noting that he and the majority of his constituents had changed district numbers, but he said he would not announce his plans until after the Nov. 4 special election to avoid confusing Houstonians.
Candidates can begin filing Saturday for a spot on the 2026 primary ballot, the start of a monthlong window that runs until Dec. 8. The timing ensures that Edwards and any other prospective candidates will need to decide whether to put their name on the ballot before their runoff election.
One way or another this will not be my problem. If this map doesn’t get blocked – and with the filing period now open, it really is now or never for that to happen – I will be in CD07 next year. I like Rep. Green – what’s not to like? – but this fight, if it happens, is very much one of the things that Republicans had in mind when they redid the Congressional map. It wasn’t just about drawing new seats for them, though after Tuesday their five-seat goal is looking shaky, it was about forcing Democrats to fight among themselves. Lloyd Doggett chose to step down rather than engage in that fight. Julie Johnson will be running in CD33, where Marc Veasey currently serves. Al Green is running in CD18. That’s what we have to deal with right now. The goal is to get to the point where we can not only undo this damage, but make things better. We have to get through this before we can get there.
By the way, the runoff for the special election in CD18 may be as late as February. That means that Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards will be campaigning in one place and with one set of voters for the special election, and in a different place with different voters for the primary. When we are in a position to fix things, I hope we don’t forget that. I for one will not be ready to turn any pages in the short term.
“By the way, the runoff for the special election in CD18 may be as late as February.”
Didn’t it used to be that runoffs for Nov elections happened in Dec? What lame excuse is Abbott invoking this time?
Ranked choice voting just looks better and better.
If these gerrymandered maps hold I’ll have Weber instead of Nehls, which is probably an upgrade, given what a buffoon Troy is.