Did Al Green lose his primary election last night?

Is he out of Congress?

If you scroll through X/Twitter today, you would think Al Green is officially out:

And I would love to write an article telling you this Neanderthal is officially gone and out of Congress, but I have a duty to report TRUTHFULLY.

So let’s fact-check it.

Here’s what actually happened…

Yes, Al Green got less votes than his competitor last night.

But state law requires one person needs to get over 50% and both Al Green and Christian Menefee came in less than 50%:

And that means we officially head to a runoff election.

The projection has been confirmed by multiple outlets, including the Associated Press, with about 99% of votes counted showing neither candidate reaching the 50% threshold needed to win outright. Menefee leads with around 46%, Green has about 44%, and the remaining votes are split among other candidates (including one who withdrew but remained on the ballot).

The runoff election will be held on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Early voting for the runoff is scheduled for May 18–22, 2026.

So while we have to deal with him a little longer at least until late May, the good news is that if he loses the runoff election he is confirmed to be OUT of Congress:

Congressional Outlook: Rep. Al Green

Yes, if Rep. Al Green loses the May 26, 2026, runoff in Texas’ 18th Congressional District Democratic primary, he will effectively be out of Congress at the end of his current term.

Redistricting and the 9th District

His current term (representing Texas’ 9th District) ends on January 3, 2027. Due to the 2025 mid-decade redistricting by Texas Republicans, Green’s home and much of his former constituency were shifted into the newly configured 18th District, while the 9th District was redrawn to become heavily Republican-leaning (flipping from strongly Democratic to favoring Trump by a significant margin under the new lines).

The Primary Challenge

  • Green chose not to run for reelection in the redrawn 9th District.

  • Instead, he ran in the Democratic primary for the redrawn 18th District (a safely Democratic seat overall).

  • This created an incumbent-vs-incumbent matchup against Rep. Christian Menefee (who won a January 2026 special election to fill the remainder of the late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term in the 18th under its prior boundaries).

Consequences of the Runoff

Since Green is not seeking reelection in his original district and is challenging for the new one, a loss in the runoff means he would not appear on the November 2026 general election ballot for any congressional seat.

The Democratic nominee (Menefee or Green) is heavily favored to win the general in the solidly Democratic 18th District, but without the nomination, Green would leave Congress when the 119th Congress ends and the 120th begins in January 2027.

Conclusion

No sources indicate any alternative path for him to remain in Congress under these circumstances. This is a direct result of the redistricting forcing him into this primary contest.

 

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