"Come to work": Fight between House Dems turns nasty
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Rep. Al Green speaks at a rally outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 2, 2025. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The race between Reps. Al Green (D-Texas) and Christian Menefee (D-Texas) for a Houston-based U.S. House seat quickly went from largely cordial to venomous on Wednesday after the two were forced into a head-to-head primary.
Why it matters: Green and Menefee will now have to spend the next 12 weeks campaigning against each other while simultaneously serving together in Congress.
- "I am challenging Mr. Menefee to a debate ... right away, but I also challenge him to come to work," Green told Axios on Wednesday, citing the fact that Menefee missed nine of his first 29 roll call votes.
- Menefee dismissed his opponent's attack as "desperate."
Driving the news: Green and Menefee both failed to clear 50% in Tuesday's free-for-all primary, meaning they will have to go to a runoff on May 26.
- Menfee had 46% of the vote while Green had a little over 44% with over 95% of votes tallied, according to the Texas Secretary of State's Office.
- Other candidates garnered nearly 10% of the vote, collectively.
Zoom out: Green, 78, has served in Congress since 2004, while Menefee, 37, was first elected in a special election in January to replace Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died last March.
- Menefee then had to face off with Green after Texas Republicans reduced the number of safely Democratic seats in Houston as part of their mid-decade redrawing of the state's congressional lines.
What they're saying: Asked about the results outside a House Democratic caucus meeting Wednesday afternoon, Green told Axios it was a "very successful" campaign.
- "I was running against the crypto industry, they put $1.5 million in, that we know of, against me," he added. "I and others knew that there would be a runoff."
- Green said of Menefee's voting record: "Within his first month in Congress, after having sworn that he was going to come here and vote ... he missed a week. ... My voting record is 97.9% over 20 years."
- "He missed six votes in one day, and then missed additional votes as well. We had a classified briefing on the Iran war, he wasn't there," Green added. "He needs to know that this is where we work."
The other side: Green's comments came after Menefee, who had thus far run a positive campaign, said in an election night speech: "A 20-year incumbent, getting desperate, got negative."
- Green's campaign ran a now-deleted ad against Menefee, accusing him of making a "deal with the devil" with "Trump crypto cronies," Axios' Jay Jordan and Shafaq Patel reported.
- "Al Green, you can tear us down, but I'm gonna build us up," Menefee said in his election night speechAnd I will not lose my integrity for no damn elected office."
Asked Wednesday about Green's latest comments, Menefee said, "That sounds like the remarks of somebody who is desperate because they've been in office 20 years and they were down on the first ballot."
- He told reporters he looked forward to continuing the campaign, adding: "I'm sure we're going to be successful."
- Asked about the shifting tone of the campaign, Menefee said, "You'd have to ask the congressman about that. I respect the congressman and his service."
The intrigue: Menefee and Green agree on at least one thing, which is that the Democratic grassroots' demands for generational change has not played a significant role in their race.
- Asked if he thinks age was a factor in his first place finish, Menefee told Axios, "Not at all."
- Said Green: "I am the generational change."
Go deeper: Texas warning signs: 4 takeaways from the first primaries of 2026
