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U.S. Rep. Al Green isn’t ready to hang it up.
Even though Gov. Greg Abbott signed off on a redistricting map that essentially eliminates the 78-year-old’s congressional district, Green is preparing to officially file to run for Congress in the neighboring 18th Congressional District, where two millennials have been expected to be the favorites.
Green was scheduled to hold an “eve of filing” rally near NRG Stadium on Friday night. In a flyer promoting the event, his campaign said it was for “supporters of Keep Al Green in Congress,” and put in bold lettering: “Vote Al Green for District 18.”
The official qualifying period to get on the ballot for next year’s elections begins on Saturday.
Green’s campaign did not respond to a request for further comment.
If he enters, he’ll be jumping into a March primary election that will likely include both Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, 37, and former city councilmember Amanda Edwards, 43. Both are currently battling in a special election to fill out the final months of the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner’s term in the 18th District. On Tuesday, they advanced to a final runoff battle that Abbott has yet to set.
Menefee and Edwards both said they are focused on the runoff, but also will file to run in the March Democratic primary to hold the seat beyond 2026, when it is reconfigured.
Green has noted that a lot of his current voters are going to shift from the 9th Congressional District to the new 18th next year. But his decision to take another shot at running for Congress comes as pressure has mounted on other veteran Democrats in Congress in their 70s and 80s to make way for a new generation. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 85, announced on Thursday she would not seek reelection.
Others, like Rep. Jerrold Nadler, 78, of New York, and U.S. Sen Tina Smith, 67, of Minnesota, have also said they won’t seek reelection so a new generation of leaders can have a shot. But other older Democrats are digging in. In Tennessee, 76-year-old U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen is pushing for another term in office even as Democratic challenger Justin Pearson, 30, tries to unseat him. Pearson on Thursday was quick to praise Pelosi for stepping aside “and passing the torch for the next generation of leaders.”
Edwards knows a thing or two about the generational divide. The late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, defeated Edwards in the primary in March 2024 before dying at age 74 of cancer in July. Then Edwards lost to Turner, 70, in the battle to replace Lee.
Who's Up, Who's Down
A daily stock market-style report on key players in Texas politics.
Up: Gavin Newsom.
It’s not because he passed Proposition 50 to counter Gov. Greg Abbott’s redistricting plan in Texas. It’s because Republicans in Texas may have inadvertently given him a major campaign boost if he wants to run for president in 2028 as many have speculated. Campaign finance records in Sacramento show he raised more than $100 million in 90 days from donors around the nation, all in the name of countering Texas’s redistricting. About $1.7 million came from 9,000 donations via Texas. All those donors now become part of a database of supporters that Newsom will be able to tap into if he does run for president. Newsom will be in Houston on Saturday for a victory lap, where he can continue building a network of support in the Lone Star state for future political needs.
Down: Gina Ortiz Jones.
The San Antonio mayor never fully opposed the San Antonio Spurs' push for public funding for an arena in the heart of the Alamo City. But the Democrat did push for more economic studies and more debate, which many who supported the project saw as risking defeat at the polls on Tuesday. Still, the arena deal passed, setting the Spurs up to get about $800 million in public money to cover the cost of their $1.3 billion project. Greg Jefferson of the Express-News writes that Jones’s very public attempts to slow down the project and take on one of the city’s biggest institutions turned her into a villain for some and showed Jones the limits of her political power as mayor.
What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.
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When Gavin Newsom told Gov. Greg Abbott to back down on redrawing congressional lines in Texas or else, many (including yours truly) thought he was bluffing. Not so. California political reporter Monica Madden and Houston State Rep. Gene Wu both join me on this week’s episode of the Texas Take Podcast to talk about how improbable Newsom’s victory on Tuesday night was given the hurdles he faced back in August. Plus we'll talk about the role Texas Democrats had in helping him make it happen. Then reporter Taylor Goldenstein joins the program to help make sense of why Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton used the bulk of a speech to students at the University of Texas to talk about his legal woes and having nearly been impeached by fellow Republicans.
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