Congressman Gene Green Gathers Support After Being Challenged By Adrian Garcia

Houston Public Media's Coverage of Election 2016

The race for Texas' 29th Congressional District is heating up as former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia recently announced his candidacy and incumbent Congressman Gene Green made a show of force on his own turf this week.

Green held a press conference at a community clinic located in Northeast Houston to accept the endorsement of Texas Representatives Ana Hernandez, Carol Alvarado and Armando Walle, as well as that of State Senators Sylvia Garcia and John Whitmire.

During the press conference, Green didn't mention his opponent by name and, instead, focused on his experience of more than 20 years in Washington, which he thinks should earn him re-election in 2016.

"You know, seniority does matter in Congress but, more importantly, I don’t really live in Washington, I live at home. We come home every weekend, we do town hall meetings in January. We have a lot of events going on in our district because if I do something in D.C., if I can’t show how it benefits my district, I shouldn’t be doing it," said Green.

In an interview with News 88.7 previous to Green’s press conference, Garcia avoided explicitly attacking the Congressman.

"This isn’t about, you know, one person. It’s about, in my estimation, it’s about the fact that you have a significant district that has a lot issues and challenges," commented Garcia.

However, few hours after Green's press conference, Sergio Cantu, a spokesman for Garcia’s campaign, sent out a statement in response.

He said Green has been "absent or dead wrong," regarding the work of Congress on issues such as education, housing and income inequality when it comes to Texas' 29th Congressional District.

Green and Garcia will face off in the Texas Democratic primary, which will be held on March 1st 2016.