You don't normally see politicians step aside, effectively ending their careers, when faced with a redistricting issue. A contentious interparty primary fight takes place, and a certain amount of bitterness inevitably follows. Rep. Lloyd Doggett didn't want to go and tried everything he could to convince Rep. Greg Casar to run in a newly-drawn district by Texas Republicans that would have been extremely difficult for Casar to win. Since that wasn't going to happen, Doggett reluctantly, but unselfishly, announced that he would not seek reelection.
Source: Texas Tribune
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the dean of Texas’ congressional delegation, announced Thursday he would not run for reelection to his Austin-based seat if a new Republican-drawn map is in effect for the 2026 midterms.
Doggett, 78, has represented his hometown of Austin for over 50 years, in both the Legislature and Congress. First elected to Congress in 1994 — the last year Democrats won a statewide race in Texas — he survived numerous Republican redistricting efforts throughout his tenure as the number of Texas Democrats in Congress dwindled.
In announcing his decision, Doggett is ceding his newly drawn 37th Congressional District, a deep-blue district that encompasses much of Austin, to Rep. Greg Casar. Casar, 36, currently represents the 35th Congressional District, which runs from Austin to San Antonio but is on the verge of being redrawn by Republicans to contain less than 10% of Casar’s current constituency.
And make no mistake, Lloyd Doggett did not want to do this, but the recently elected Casar also did not want to take his chances in a newly redrawn 35th Congressional District that voted for Trump by over 10%. Casar's odds at reelection would have been slim at best. Not impossible, but slim.
In a Thursday statement, Doggett repeated his argument that Casar should run in the San Antonio seat, but acquiesced nonetheless.
“I had hoped that my commitment to reelection under any circumstances would encourage Congressman Casar to not surrender his winnable district to Trump,” Doggett said. “While his apparent decision is most unfortunate, I prefer to devote the coming months to fighting Trump tyranny and serving Austin rather than waging a struggle with fellow Democrats. If [Trump’s] extreme gerrymandering prevails, I wish Congressman Casar the best.”
Doggett's full statement.
Casar's grateful reply.
