Rep. Greg Casar to seek reelection in newly redrawn 37th district amid Texas map changes
Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), ' 35th district, announced on Monday that he'll be running for reelection in the newly redrawn 37th district, which combines both Casar and Rep. Llyod Doggett's (D-TX) district.
Texas Republicans' newly redrawn map, which just passed through the Texas senate and now awaits Gov. Greg Abbott's signature, creates five new Republican districts, completely gutting the 35th district represented by Casar since 2023. Republicans' redrawing of the 35th district would encompass fewer than 10% of Casar's constituents and it does not include any part of Austin. Instead the newly redrawn 37th district, currently represented by Doggett will absorb much of Casar's district.
"Greg Abbott and Donald Trump, think that they can silence Austin, Texas,"Casar said in a campaign video released on X. "They don't want me in Congress because they don't want us to be heard. I may not have millions in the bank or decades of connections, but what I do have is you and we're not going anywhere."
Casar's campaign previously signaled in an email that if the Republicans' map is passed, then the Congressman would run in the the newly redrawn 37th district, as opposed to the 35th, because the 37th district now consisted of much of his constituents.
"Greg leaving Austin to run this new South Texas seat would deprive Austin of Greg's voice and growing influence as new chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and it would undercut Democrats' chance to win in the new South Texas by running a candidate with deep ties to that community," Casar's chief of staff wrote. "As Greg has said clearly: his focus is on fighting the maps, but whatever happens, he will be running for reelection in Austin."
While Doggett previously urged Casar not to run in the newly drawn 37th district; the 78-year-old lawmaker announced last week that he would not be running in the 37th district if the map is passed.
“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 the statement.
Aside from Casar and Doggett's district, the redrawn map targets districts represented by Reps. Marc Veasey (D-TX), Julie Johnson (D-TX), Al Green (D-TX), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), and Henry Cuellar (D-TX).
The National News Desk reached out to Casar's campaign for comment.
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