Longtime Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas announced Friday that he will not seek reelection, just one day after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Texas to use its newly drawn congressional map in the 2024 midterm elections. The map, crafted by Republican lawmakers, is designed to strengthen GOP representation in the state while reducing the number of Democrat-held districts.
Doggett, who has served in Congress since 1995, acknowledged that the Supreme Court’s ruling had effectively sealed his political fate, stating he would finish his term with “urgency and determination” before retiring from public office. “After that,” he said, “I will seek new ways to join my neighbors in making a difference in the only town I have ever called home.”
Texas Republicans moved aggressively earlier this year to redraw congressional boundaries to reflect the state’s shifting population and political landscape. The new map creates a number of additional Republican-leaning districts, prompting outrage from Democrats who feared losing ground in a state where GOP strength has steadily grown. In a dramatic attempt to stall the redistricting effort, Democratic state lawmakers fled Texas to deny the legislature the quorum needed to pass the map.
Their resistance collapsed only after Democrats—including California Governor Gavin Newsom—promised that blue states would counter Texas with aggressive redistricting of their own to boost Democratic representation nationally. Once assured of that strategy, Texas Democrats returned home, allowing the GOP-backed plan to pass.
In November, a panel of federal judges temporarily blocked the map, ruling that it was likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. But the Supreme Court quickly stepped in, issuing an administrative stay that signaled skepticism of the lower court’s decision. On Thursday, the Court ruled that Texas may use the map in the upcoming election cycle, a major victory for state Republicans and for President Donald Trump, whose administration supported efforts to secure more accurate, representative congressional boundaries nationwide.
Doggett responded to the ruling by praising Justice Elena Kagan’s dissent while attacking the Trump administration in harsh terms. “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, alleging that “more outrageous schemes will follow.”
The Supreme Court’s decision means Texas Republicans will enter 2024 with a congressional map widely viewed as favorable to the party, potentially expanding their delegation and bolstering GOP chances of maintaining control of the U.S. House. Democrats, meanwhile, will have to rely on their redistricting efforts in places like California to offset expected Republican gains.
Despite announcing his departure from Congress, Doggett vowed to continue fighting the new map politically and rhetorically. “I will continue doing my part to vigorously fight back and to help others here and across the country,” he said.
With Doggett’s exit and the Court’s ruling, Texas politics is poised for a reshaping—one that reflects the shifting balance of power and the increasingly assertive role Republicans are playing in the nation’s redistricting wars.
[READ MORE: Supreme Court Hands Trump a Major Win, Allows Texas to Use GOP-Drawn Congressional Map for 2024]
