A generational Democratic Party primary battle engineered by Republican-led redistricting was headed to a runoff on Wednesday after neither Representative Christian Menefee, the newcomer, nor Representative Al Green, a brash 11-term House veteran, could muster 50 percent of the vote, according to The Associated Press.
Mr. Menefee, 37, sworn in just last month after a special House election in January, and Mr. Green, 78, had not sought the showdown in the heart of Houston. But they were effectively drawn into the same 18th Congressional District last summer after Republicans in the Texas Legislature remade the state’s U.S. House map in an effort to flip five Democratic seats.
The district was drawn to strongly favor Democratic candidates, meaning the winner of Tuesday’s primary was expected to go on to victory in November.
But a resolution to the contest will have to wait for the runoff on May 26. That’s because a third Democrat on the ballot, Amanda Edwards, received enough of the vote on Tuesday to prevent either Mr. Menefee or Mr. Green from winning, even though she had pulled out of the race.
Ms. Edwards’ role as spoiler was an accident of the close timing between the Jan. 31 special election and the March 3 primary. Ms. Edwards dropped out of the primary last month after losing the special election to Mr. Menefee. But her name remained on the ballot because the filing deadline had already passed late last year.
Mr. Green, an outspoken representative who has heckled President Trump during his State of the Union speeches, saw his former district, Texas’ Ninth, moved from its former location south of downtown Houston into one that strongly favored Republicans to the east. Rather than stay in the relocated district, Mr. Green decided to run for re-election in the redrawn 18th, which included areas he formerly represented.
Mr. Menefee, a former county attorney in Harris County, also frequently took on the Trump administration, but in court. At 37, he is considered a promising member of a new generation of Texas Democrats.
The district has a long history of representation by prominent Black members of Congress, including Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland and Sheila Jackson Lee. Both Mr. Menefee and Mr. Green are Black.
During the fight over redistricting last month, Democrats objected that two seats that historically had Black representation were being reduced to one.
For most of last year, the seat remained vacant after Representative Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, died soon after taking office. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican, did not call a special election until November, and a runoff followed in January.
Mr. Menefee and Mr. Green each earned endorsements from Houston-area Democrats, splitting them largely on generational lines. There were few policy debates in the campaign. Both candidates have strong progressive views and could point to records of fighting against Republicans in Washington — something Democratic primary voters had said they were looking for in 2026.
J. David Goodman is the Texas bureau chief for The Times, based in Houston.
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