Rep. Lloyd Doggett will not seek reelection if new congressional maps are put into effect

AUSTIN, Texas - Longtime Congressman Lloyd Doggett said he will not seek reelection if the new congressional maps are put into effect.

Doggett, from Austin, would have faced fellow Democrat Greg Casar due to the new districts. 

Rep. Lloyd Doggett's statement

"With approval of the crooked Trump maps imminent, the future of redistricting turns next to the courts. If this racially gerrymandered Trump map is rejected, as it should be, I will continue seeking reelection in Congressional District 37 to represent my neighbors in the only town I have ever called home.

If the courts give Trump a victory in his scheme to maintain control of a compliant House, I will not seek reelection in the reconfigured CD37, even though it contains over 2/3rd of my current constituents. Most of Congressman Casar’s current CD35 is not located in Austin. The Trump-revised CD35 gains Hispanic population to become 57% Hispanic. While drawn to favor a Republican, it remains a competitive district in which Biden received 49% and Allred 48%.

I had hoped that my commitment to reelection under any circumstances would encourage Congressman Casar to not surrender his winnable district to Trump. 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 extreme gerrymandering prevails, I wish Congressman Casar the best."

Redistricting fight

Texas House Republicans approved a new Congressional District Map on Wednesday. Democrats delayed the inevitable, but the clock ran out.

Now that it's out of the lower chamber, the new map will be taken up by the Senate on Thursday.

A Senate Special Committee for Congressional Redistricting met on Thursday morning. The committee voted to report House Bill 4 to the full senate.

"There being five ayes, three nays and one absent, House Bill 4 will be reported to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation."

The backstory:

It passed the house 88-52 on Wednesday. The new congressional map would give Republicans five new seats in Congress.

Democrats left the state in protest, and once back in Texas they filed amendments to continue stalling the vote. They criticized Republicans for not holding hearings on the map in the second special session.

And before the vote, Republicans admitted the new map is designed to benefit their party.