Longtime Austin Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett said he intends to run for reelection after a federal court blocked Texas from using its newly drawn congressional map in the 2026 midterm elections.
"To borrow from Mark Twain, the reports of my death, politically, are greatly exaggerated," Doggett said in a statement. "This federal court order means that I have a renewed opportunity to continue serving the only town I have ever called home, as democracy faces greater challenges than at any point in my lifetime."
Doggett had previously said he would not seek reelection if the state's newly drawn congressional map went into effect.
The map was passed by the Texas Legislature earlier this year in a special session after President Trump said he wanted five more Republican seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The map eliminates one of Travis County's two Democrat-held seats. If it had gone into effect, it would have pitted Doggett and Democratic Rep. Greg Casar against each other in the race for the remaining seat that represents Austin.
"The Trump Abbott maps are clearly illegal, and I’m glad these judges have blocked them. If this decision stands, I look forward to running for reelection in my current district," Casar said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "No matter what, we must fight to pass a federal ban on gerrymandering once and for all."
Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton said they will appeal the court decision.
"The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans' conservative voting preferences – and for no other reason. Any claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd and unsupported by the testimony offered during ten days of hearings," Abbott said in a statement. "This ruling is clearly erroneous and undermines the authority the U.S. Constitution assigns to the Texas Legislature by imposing a different map by judicial edict. The State of Texas will swiftly appeal to the United States Supreme Court."
Doggett said he remains hopeful about the outcome of the case "since even a Trump-appointed trial judge ruled against this Trump racial gerrymander."
This is a developing story.
