US Midterms 2026
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Christian Menefee, a Democrat and former Harris County attorney who won Texas's 18th congressional district in a January 2026 special election, is seeking a full term against Republican Ronald Whitfield.
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Texas Congressional Candidate Christian D. Menefee gets a photo with poll worker, Jessica Barraza, as he visited a polling location at Acres Homes MultiService Center on Election Day, in Houston, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.
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Christian Menefee, whose full name is Christian Dashaun Menefee, was born in Houston, Texas, on April 18, 1988, and was the first in his family to attend college. He is a graduate of Alief Hastings High School, the University of Texas at San Antonio and Washington University School of Law. Before entering public office he practiced law at Norton Rose Fulbright and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
In the March 2020 Democratic primary for Harris County Attorney, Menefee defeated three-term incumbent Vince Ryan, and he went on to win the November 2020 general election. He took office in January 2021 as the youngest person and the first African American to hold the post.
As county attorney he filed lawsuits against Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, including a challenge to the state's 2021 voting law and a suit over Abbott's ban on mask mandates, and he brought environmental cases such as one against Union Pacific over creosote contamination in Houston's Fifth Ward.
In January 2023 EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan appointed him to the agency's Local Government Advisory Committee.
After Representative Sylvester Turner died in March 2025, Menefee announced on March 18, 2025, that he would run in the special election for the 18th district.
He defeated fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards in a runoff on January 31, 2026, by about 37 percentage points and has served in the U.S. House since February 2026.
In April 2026 he introduced his first bill, the Special Election Timeliness Act, which would require states to hold special elections for vacant House seats within 180 days. He serves on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Following 2025 redistricting, the new 18th district, a Houston seat that includes Downtown, the Third Ward and the Fifth Ward, has two incumbents: Menefee and Al Green, who previously represented the 9th district.
Menefee led the Democratic primary with 46.0% of the vote in a field that also included Green and Edwards, then defeated Green in a runoff on May 26, 2026, by 39 percentage points.
In the general election on November 3, 2026, Menefee faces Republican Ronald Whitfield, who won the Republican primary with 55.1% of the vote.
