Texas Democratic Reps. Al Green and Christian Menefee are headed to a runoff, extending a member-on-member matchup defined by the latest fight over generational change.
Neither Green, 78, or Menefee, 37, earned a majority of votes in the newly drawn Houston 18th District resulting from Texas Republicans’ recent gerrymander of the state’s congressional map.
Green, a civil rights icon, jumped into the race after his former district was scrambled by the GOP’s redistricting. The matchup comes as the Democratic Party is engaged in an intense debate about whether the old guard should step aside and make room for a younger generation of leaders.
Green, who was first elected to Congress in 2004, has long represented the Houston area. He was the first Democrat to introduce articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump — long before most other House Democrats were on board — and famously protested his addresses to Congress.
Just weeks ago, Menefee had won a special election in an overlapping district to serve out the remainder of the late, former Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term.
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