Representative Al Green of Texas, a Democrat known for acts of protest at President Trump’s speeches to Congress, is facing off against another congressman in a primary runoff on Tuesday, after the two were effectively drawn into the same district.
Here are five things to know about Mr. Green, 78, of Houston, who narrowly trailed in the first round of voting in March.
1. He tends not to stay long at Mr. Trump’s speeches to Congress. Mr. Green was escorted from the House chamber during the president’s State of the Union address in February after holding up a sign that carried an all-capital-letter message: “Black people aren’t apes!” The protest was a response to a racist video that Mr. Trump posted (and deleted) earlier that month portraying former President Barack Obama and the former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. A year earlier, Mr. Green was ejected at another address by Mr. Trump to Congress; Mr. Green had heckled the president, shaken his cane at him and refused to be seated. He was later censured by the House over the protest. Mr. Green has also filed articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump at least six times, including on multiple occasions in 2025.
2. He is a veteran lawmaker. Mr. Green, who was first elected in 2004, is in his 11th term. His race against Representative Christian D. Menefee, 38, is one of a number of midterm tests of Democratic voters’ hunger for generational change. Mr. Green has stressed the importance of seniority in Congress, calling Mr. Menefee a “neophyte.” Mr. Menefee has said that the district “is ready for a passing of the torch.”
3. He is a target of the cryptocurrency industry. Mr. Green, who sits on the House committee that oversees financial assets such as crypto, has expressed uneasiness with the virtual currency, saying that he worries that it could have a negative impact on the dollar. A crypto-backed super PAC says it has funneled more than $5 million into the race in an effort to defeat him.
4. He was arrested after taking part in an immigration protest outside the Capitol in 2013. Mr. Green was one of eight members of the House detained after blocking traffic. The lawmakers were calling on Congress to pass legislation that would include a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants.
5. He led the Houston branch of the N.A.A.C.P. Mr. Green, a lawyer, led the branch for about a decade. During that time, its membership grew from a few hundred people to a few thousand, according to his House office.
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