Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett Says He'll Retire After Texas Redistricting Unless Courts Overturn Gop Map

Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, nan longest serving personnel of Texas' legislature delegation, announced Thursday that he will discontinue alternatively of moving for re-election if caller legislature territory boundaries aren't rejected successful court, aft authorities Republicans carved up his Austin-area location district successful caller maps.

While Austin is presently divided up into 2 districts represented by 2 Democrats, Doggett and Rep. Greg Casar, nan caller representation combines those 2 districts to make 1 heavy Democratic spot and different that leans Republican and is much astir San Antonio.

While Doggett had been telegraphing for weeks that he was readying to activity re-election for nan bluish spot successful Austin, mounting up a generational conflict betwixt nan 78-year-old and nan 36-year-old Casar, he's now connected people to discontinue instead, unless a tribunal intervenes.

"If this racially gerrymandered Trump representation is rejected, arsenic it should be, I will proceed seeking reelection successful Congressional District 37 to correspond my neighbors successful nan only municipality I person ever called home," Doggett said successful a statement. "If nan courts springiness Trump a triumph successful his strategy to support power of a compliant House, I will not activity reelection successful nan reconfigured CD37."

"I wish Congressman Casar nan best," Doggett concluded.

Doggett conscionable deed his 30th twelvemonth successful nan House of Representatives and his 52nd successful Texas politics. He's held important posts connected nan powerful Ways and Means Committee and different House committees pinch oversight complete nan system and nan national budget.

Doggett was besides nan first Democratic personnel of Congress to telephone connected then-President Joe Biden to withdraw from nan statesmanlike title in 2024, doing truthful successful early July, arsenic his statement raged complete Biden's mediocre statement capacity successful precocious June.

Before winning his House spot successful 1994, Doggett served arsenic a authorities Supreme Court Justice and a personnel of nan authorities Senate. In 1979, he was 1 of nan twelve "Killer Bees," a nickname for nan Democratic authorities senators who banded together to contradict Republicans nan minimum number of lawmakers required to behaviour legislative business, besides known arsenic a "quorum," a move that stymied Republican attempts to alteration nan rules for statesmanlike primaries successful nan state.

More recently, Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled nan authorities earlier this period to hold nan GOP-backed redistricting rule pointed to nan "Killer Bees" erstwhile discussing nan agelong history of quorum breaking successful nan state.

While Doggett has been a respected personnel of nan delegation for decades, nan determination by Republicans to redraw legislature maps successful nan hopes of padding their mostly successful Washington created an awkward business for him and Casar, who leads nan Congressional Progressive Caucus contempt having served little than 2 afloat position successful Washington.

Doggett has spent weeks publically cajoling Casar to tally successful nan caller 35th District, nan redrawn territory adjacent San Antonio that President Donald Trump carried by astir 10 percent points past year. During an question and reply Wednesday connected CNN, Doggett said he hoped that Casar wouldn't "surrender [his district] to Trump."

"I deliberation nan entreaty that he's carried astir nan state pinch Bernie Sanders, of appealing to disaffected Americans, peculiarly successful Texas, disaffected Latinos, would beryllium an important connection to present there, and I dream we won't spot that benignant of conflict that Republicans are ever trying to encourage, wherever Democrats conflict each different alternatively than fighting Trump," he added.

Casar has been fiercely captious of nan GOP's caller legislature map, but he hasn't publically weighed successful astir nan anticipation of a superior against Doggett successful nan aforesaid way.

And this week, a fistful of Texas Democrats, including erstwhile gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis and erstwhile Texas Rep. Glen Maxey, wrote an op-ed successful The Austin Chronicle calling connected Doggett to "pass nan torch to protect nan progressive movement’s future," informing that "ending nan legislature profession of an exceptional young legislature leader for illustration Greg Casar would unavoidably formed a protector complete Doggett’s different sparkling legacy."