AP Photo/Karen Warren
Christian Menefee talks with voters as he visited a polling location at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church on Election Day, in Houston, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.
Fresh off the heels of his special election victory in the 18th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee took an early lead in his bid to stay in the seat beyond this year.
Menefee led longtime U.S. Rep. Al Green in the Democratic primary, according to early voting results released Tuesday by the Harris County Clerk’s Office. Election Day results in the redrawn Houston district, which historically favors Black Democrats, were still being tallied.
Menefee, 37, received 54.7% of the early vote compared to 36.8% for the 78-year-old Green, who has represented the 9th Congressional District since 2005. He switched to the 18th after Texas Republicans undertook a rare mid-decade redistricting last summer in order to help the GOP win up to five additional seats in the November midterm election.
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The closely watched primary race is the second election for the 18th District in just over one month — and the third overall in a period of four months — after a special election to fill the seat vacated by the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died last March at age 70.
Menefee, the former Harris County attorney, won the Jan. 31 special election against former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards. Menefee was sworn into office in February.
But the scope of the special election was vastly different from that of Tuesday’s primary election. The Texas legislature approved new congressional maps designed to benefit Republicans. In some circumstances, including in the new 18th Congressional District, the new maps pit Democrats against one another.
Green, whose home and many of his current constituents were shifted from the 9th District to the 18th, opted to seek reelection in the latter district, setting him up for a race against Menefee. Green, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, made headlines last week after being removed from Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress for the second year in a row.
Two other candidates — Edwards and Department of Defense employee Gretchen Brown — were also on the ballot. Edwards suspended her campaign in February after her special election defeat, though her name still appeared on the ballot.
In the Republican primary, Ronald Whitfield led Elizabeth Vences with 54% after early voting. The two primary winners will compete in the general election in November.
The district has long leaned Democratic, with a Black Democrat having held the seat since the early 1970s. Redistricting last year made the 18th even more favorable for Democrats.