Lloyd Doggett says he won’t seek reelection after GOP map is upheld

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week to uphold the Texas’ GOP-friendly congressional map has cemented the decision by Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin to end his half-century career in politics.

But Doggett said he plans to remain active in progressive causes even after his 16th term comes to an end in January 2027.

“I will continue working with the same urgency and determination as if next year were my last, which in public office it will be,” Doggett said in a statement on Friday.  “After that, I will seek new ways to join my neighbors in making a difference in the only town I have ever called home.”

Doggett, 79, announced in September that he would not seek reelection after Austin was left with just one safe Democratic congressional district when the lines were redrawn by the Legislature. By stepping aside, it cleared the path for Austin’s other Democratic representative, Greg Casar, to run for the seat without a big-name opponent in the March 3 primary.

Doggett shelved his decision, albeit only briefly, when a panel of federal judges temporarily struck down the GOP map last month, which would have reinstated the boundaries that have been in place since the 2022 elections. The high court’s 6-3 decision Wednesday overruled the lower court.

When he steps off the political stage, Doggett will end a political career that began in 1973 when he won a state Senate seat in a special election at age 26. He left that seat after running unsuccessfully in 1984, but was back in public office four years later when he was elected to the Texas Supreme Court.

In 1994, Doggett won his first race for Congress. Although he had been targeted for extinction several time in GOP-led redistricting efforts, Doggett always found a way to survive before this year’s unusual mid-decade overhaul of the state’s maps.

Doggett thrust himself into the national spotlight in the summer of 2024 when he became the first elected Democrat to call for then-President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid after a halting and disjointed debate appearance with then-Republican candidate Donald Trump.

As president, Trump was the driving force to remake the Texas congressional map, hoping to increase Republican chances to retain the majority in the House after the midterms. 

“Trump’s racial gerrymandering is only his first major shenanigan designed to win next year’s election and retain a House that poses no restraint to his dangerous whims and incessant drive for unlimited power,” Doggett said.  “More outrageous schemes will follow. I will continue doing my part to vigorously fight back and to help others here and across the country.”