A senior House Democrat scrambling to retain his seat in Congress amid Texas Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting push is actively pressuring his younger left-wing colleague to not run against him — as the state’s proposed GOP-drawn map threatens to place the two Democrats in the same district.
Democratic Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett signaled Monday that he will seek his 17th term in Congress despite the prospect of a potential primary challenge from fellow Democratic Texas Rep. Greg Casar. The newly-drawn map would create only one safe blue seat in Austin, Texas, setting up a potential brutal primary contest that Doggett is trying to avoid by lobbying Casar to run for a neighboring seat that is solidly Republican.
“If this sorry Trump map for Texas is eventually approved, I remain hopeful that Congressman Casar will not abandon his reconfigured CD35 [35th congressional district], in which he is the only incumbent,” Doggett said in a statement Monday. “Without Greg’s power of incumbency and ability to attract support, this seat could be lost by a weaker Democratic nominee.”
“[I]f I am challenged in Austin, I stand ready to vigorously and forcefully defend my progressive pay-as-you-go record and my commitment to the only city I have ever called home,” Doggett continued. “Never give up, never give in!”
Texas Republicans are eyeing five pickup opportunities with the newly-proposed congressional map that would draw Doggett and Casar into the same Austin, Texas-based seat. The GOP-backed redistricting effort has been temporarily stalled following Democrats choosing to deny Republicans a quorum in the state House by departing the state for Democratic enclaves across the country.
Doggett has defended his choice to seek reelection by pointing out that two-thirds of his current constituents would remain in the newly drawn 37th congressional district.
Texas’ 35th congressional district, currently represented by Casar, would be redrawn under the proposed map to include less than 10% of Casar’s current constituents while expanding into Republican-leaning areas. Trump would have won the newly drawn district by roughly 15 percentage points in November, according to the Texas Tribune.
Doggett has also argued that Casar is the Democrats’ only hope of retaining the 35th congressional district and that a potential primary contest would only serve to divide the party. However, Casar appears to be signaling that he would rather challenge Doggett for the safe blue seat rather than run in a pro-Trump district.
“I love you Austin Texas,” Casar wrote on the social media platform X Monday following Doggett’s statement urging Casar to reconsider a primary challenge. Texas Republicans have notably redrawn the 35th congressional district to be based in San Antonio rather than Austin.
A potentially primary clash between Doggett and Casar would also highlight ongoing tensions in the Democratic Party over age and seniority following former President Joe Biden’s visible decline in office. The two Texas Democrats are separated in age by more than four decades.
Doggett, 78, was the first House Democrat to publicly call on Biden to suspend his presidential reelection bid following his disastrous debate performance and is a long-standing member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He was first elected to the House in 1994 and represents a similar Austin-based House seat to the one once represented by former President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Casar, 36, currently chairs the left-wing group and is viewed by many Democrats as a rising star in the party who is just getting his start in Congress. He is also the only remaining male member of the “Squad,” an informal far-left faction of Democratic House members — which notably includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Despite leading the charge in pressuring Biden to drop his reelection bid, Doggett is arguing that his over 30 years in Congress should be seen as an advantage in a potential primary battle against Casar.
“In Congress, seniority is an asset, not a liability,” Doggett also said in a statement Monday. “In a House again controlled by Democrats, seniority is power. And in fighting Republican shenanigans, experience is an asset.”
Spokespersons for Doggett and Casar did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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