Texas House Dem says he won't seek reelection if redistricting effort holds

Texas House passes redistricting representation

Texas House passes arguable GOP redistricting map 02:13

A longtime Democratic House lawmaker from Texas said Thursday helium won't tally for different term if a Republican redistricting plan pushed by President Trump stands arsenic instrumentality successful the state.

The announcement from 78-year-old Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who has served successful Congress since 1995, means Texas Democrats look to person avoided a perchance messy legislature superior betwixt Doggett and 36-year-old Rep. Greg Casar.

The caller legislature lines that Republicans are attempting to walk successful Texas created a concern wherever Doggett, who represents Texas' 37th legislature district, and Casar, who represents the 35th legislature district, would apt person had to tally against each different connected the Democratic broadside successful the 37th territory owed to caller boundaries reshaping Casar's existent spot into 1 favorable to Republicans.

Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas speaks during a people up gathering with the House Budget Committee connected Capitol Hill connected May 16, 2025 successful Washington, D.C.  Getty Images

Both Casar and Doggett presently correspond parts of Austin, Texas. Casar's existent spot would beryllium massively redrawn successful the projected changes.

Doggett said successful a run connection Thursday that "if the courts springiness Trump a triumph successful his strategy to support power of a compliant House, I volition not question reelection successful the reconfigured CD37, adjacent though it contains implicit 2/3rd of my existent constituents."

Casar, who is successful his 2nd term, is seat of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Doggett was the archetypal Democrat in Congress to telephone connected then-President Joe Biden to permission the 2024 statesmanlike contention aft his disastrous statesmanlike debate.

Before Doggett's announcement Thursday, helium had publically attempted to promote Casar to tally successful the redrawn 35th territory alternatively than situation him successful a superior for the 37th district. 

"My lone warfare is against Trump!" Doggett wrote on societal media earlier this month. "2seats amended than 1. Abandoning winnable bulk Hispanic #TX35 to situation maine successful #TX37 helps Trump, divides progressives."

Doggett pointed to the governmental tensions successful his connection Thursday, saying, "I had hoped that my committedness to reelection nether immoderate circumstances would promote Congressman Casar to not surrender his winnable territory to Trump. While his evident determination is astir unfortunate, I similar to give the coming months to warring Trump tyranny and serving Austin alternatively than waging a conflict with chap Democrats. If Trump utmost gerrymandering prevails, I privation Congressman Casar the best."

"Lloyd Doggett is an Austin institution," Casar said successful a societal media station pursuing Doggett's announcement. "I've learned truthful overmuch from him. I'm grateful to him. The combat for ideology continues."

The contention surrounding the GOP-led Texas redistricting effort has dragged connected for weeks aft immoderate Democratic Texas authorities legislators fled the state during a peculiar league successful bid to forestall Republicans from having a quorum that would let them to ballot connected overhauling the state's legislature maps. 

Eventually they returned, assured that California Democrats are moving to antagonistic the legislature gains Texas Republicans are looking to make. On Wednesday, the Texas House passed the measure that volition displacement the state's legislature maps to perchance springiness Republicans 5 much U.S. House seats.

The measure is expected to soon easy walk the Senate and past beryllium signed into instrumentality by the Republican politician of Texas. A situation successful tribunal to the caller representation appears likely. 

• United States Congress
• Texas