U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett says he will not seek reelection if new congressional map is approved
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AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett announced he would end his reelection campaign if a new controversial congressional map is approved by the courts. Doggett currently serves a blue district in Austin.
“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,” Doggett said in a news release Thursday evening.
This announcement comes just weeks after the longest-serving representative in the state’s delegation said he would run for another term in Congressional District 37.
A new congressional map approved by the Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday would give Republicans an advantage to pick up an additional five seats in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. The rare mid-decade redistricting push is in response to President Donald Trump wanting to shore up Republican control in the U.S. House ahead of the midterm elections in his second term.
State Rep. Todd Hunter, R – Corpus Christi, submitted the proposed map and told his colleagues in open meetings that the map was drawn with political performance in mind. They targeted five blue districts in Texas to give Republicans an advantage.
One of the districts targeted was CD 35, which is currently held by U.S. Rep. Greg Casar. The current configuration of CD 35 captures parts of east Austin and San Antonio. Under Hunter’s proposal, CD 35 was shifted to cover only east San Antonio. The new voting lines were drawn to favor Republican candidates. In the 2024 election, voters in the proposed CD 35 voted for Donald Trump by a 10-point margin.
If the map is ultimately approved, it gives Casar a tough decision. He can either run in his current district that now leans more Republican, or challenge his Democratic colleague in Austin. Doggett and Casar stood united against the gerrymandering effort on Aug. 1, but later in the month a ‘save the date’ email acquired by Punchbowl News reporter Ally Mutnick showed Doggett saw it best that Casar continue to run for reelection in CD 35 because it was more Hispanic.
“Of course I plan to run for reelection in Austin,” Casar said in a statement at the time. “But the most important thing right now isn’t any one person’s political career. The most important thing is fighting Trump’s gerrymandering, which is what I’m focused on.”
But Doggett’s latest announcement shows he would concede the seat to Casar if the map prevails in the courts, which state Democrats have already said they would challenge once it is fully approved.
“I had hoped that my commitment to reelection under any circumstances would encourage Congressman Casar to not surrender his winnable district to Trump,” Doggett’s statement reads. “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.”
Casar posted kind words for Doggett on social media, describing him as “an Austin institution.”
“I’ve learned so much from him. I’m grateful to him. The fight for democracy continues,” Casar wrote.
Doggett did leave the door open for another congressional run if the federal courts strike down the proposed map. “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,” the statement read.
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