Veteran Texas congressman Al Green has been defeated in a Democratic primary runoff by Christian Menefee, a freshman US representative. The runoff was triggered by Republican gerrymandering that effectively eliminated Green's reliably Democratic ninth district.
Last year, the Republican-dominated Texas legislature approved a congressional map designed to favour the GOP, following calls from Donald Trump to protect the party's majority. Under the new map, Green, a staunch Trump critic who has served in Congress for over two decades, saw his district carved up and announced a bid for the 18th district in November.
Menefee was sworn into the seat in January after winning a special election to replace the late US representative Sylvester Turner. During the campaign, Green attempted to link Menefee with big-money politics, accusing him of being aligned with "Trump crypto cronies", according to Houston Public Media.
Green has gained national attention for his protests against the Trump administration. In February, he was ejected from the president's State of the Union address after holding a sign reading "Black people aren't apes!" in response to Trump sharing a racist AI-generated video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.
