One of the most notorious Democrats in Congress, Rep. Al Green, has been knocked out of his House seat by Texas Republicans' redistricting effort.
The longtime lawmaker said he will not seek another term in his Houston-area 9th district, which he has represented since 2005, after it was redrawn to favor Republicans - but he is not ruling out a run for the currently vacant, safely Democratic 18th district.
Texas Republicans are seeking to gain up to five new House seats from the new congressional map, which is already being challenged by liberal groups who say it discriminates against minorities.
Green would be favored if he ran for the historically black 18th district, which was reconfigured to include most of Green's old constituents.
Republican candidates who are vying for Green's old seat include former Harris County Judge GOP candidate Alexandra del Moral Mealer and state Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park).
At a press conference announcing his next steps Tuesday, the 77-year-old Green said he may run in the 18th to honor former representatives Sylvester Turner and Sheila Jackson Lee, who both died in office.
Turner was only weeks on the job when he died in March, shortly after attending President Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress. Green was infamously escorted out of the House chamber for heckling and later censured for his conduct.
"I'm going to be in a race just to defend those two people if for no other reason," Green said, referring to Lee and Turner.
There will be a special election for the 18th in November to fill the seat.
Green said he will not enter the crowded contest, which has drawn over two dozen candidates, but he may seek a future run.
"I'm not going to be in that special election, and I'm not going to be in that special election for a multiplicity of reasons but here is one: because if I chose to get in it, and should I win it, I would then have to vacate the 9th congressional district," Green said.
Green has been re-elected 10 times since he won his first House race in 2004.
He is known for bombastic, anti-Trump activism that has been rejected by his own Democratic party as counterproductive. His frequent threats to impeach Trump have gone nowhere.
“My constituents are still where they are and I am still where I have lived for more than 30 years,” Green said.
