Reps. Al Green and Christian Menefee are headed for a runoff in the Democratic primary for the state’s reliably blue 18th Congressional District, AP projected Wednesday.
Green was trailing Menefee in the latest count, though neither candidate secured more than 50% of the vote.
The runoff is scheduled for May 26.
The race was widely seen as a generational clash, and the eventual result will likely serve as a signal of the party’s willingness to pass the baton to a younger generation. Menefee, who is 37, is less than half the age of Green, who has served in Congress since 2005.
Menefee was sworn in in February as the 18th District’s representative after winning a special election to fill the seat following the death of Rep. Sylvester Turner. But then Texas redrew its congressional map, and Green was redistricted out of the state’s 9th District. Green has served in Congress for more than 20 years, yet it was the congressman’s first competitive primary in years.
“Folks are ready to shake cages, to rattle tables and to really bring a new energy to the fight in the Democratic Party,” Menefee told The New York Times for a piece published Tuesday.
Both candidates have made their opposition to Trump a key part of their message. Green recently made headlines for being escorted out of the president’s State of the Union address after holding up a sign that read, “Black people aren’t apes.” It was the second year in a row he was removed from the event.
Menefee said Tuesday night on NBC News that his closing argument is that he is “the only candidate who has fought back against Donald Trump and actually won,” a reference to his work litigating against the Trump administration while serving as the Harris County attorney.
“I think what people are looking for in this moment is not symbolic fights, not cosmetic fights for the purpose of making the noise, but fights that are really going to lead to a change in people’s lives,” Menefee said.
Green ran a quiet campaign in the final stretch. A spokesperson told The New York Times that the longtime representative held no campaign events in the final weekend of the primary campaign.
If Green loses, his departure from Congress would leave a vacancy on the House Financial Services Committee.
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