Sen. Eddie Lucio
State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, announced Thursday that he is not seeking reelection after three decades in the upper chamber.
He made the announcement during a news conference in Harlingen, saying he was retiring “because a lot of wonderful things are yet to come in my life.” He said he wanted to spend more time with family “and to do some of the things that I’ve been wanting to do like my own personal ministry to help the less fortunate in our community.”
“I want to continue to fight for what’s right in our community for our families,” Lucio said.
Lucio’s decision comes as a surprise — earlier this year he announced he was running for reelection, and his office confirmed that remained his plan during the redistricting process this fall.
Lucio, vice chair of the Senate Education and Finance committees, has served in the Senate since 1991, making him the third most senior member. He became known as a stalwart advocate for the needs of the Rio Grande Valley — and for breaking with his party on some major issues, making him easily the most moderate Democrat in the Senate.
Lucio opposes abortion and voted in support of Texas’ new abortion restriction law that went into effect in September. He supports school choice, putting him at odds with fellow Democrats who believe it harms public schools. And he infuriated the LGBTQ community in 2017 when he voted for the “bathroom bill” that would have restricted transgender Texans’ access to certain public facilities.
Lucio’s independence has endeared him to GOP Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who regularly compliments him and has even campaigned for him.
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As a senator, Lucio faced his first real primary opposition in a while in 2020 and got forced into a runoff, which he won by a comfortable margin. Lucio was facing the prospect of another competitive primary next year, with state Rep. Alex Dominguez, D-Brownsville, exploring a run for the seat in Senate District 27.
Redistricting made SD-27 less safe for Democrats, changing it from a district that President Joe Biden won by 16 percentage points to one he would have carried by 6 points.
I noted the potential Dominguez candidacy a couple of days ago. Reform Austin, going by a story on the Quorum Report, mentions a couple of other potential candidates:
First is Morgan LaMantia, an attorney and daughter of Steve and Linda LaMantia, who has been making calls about a bid. Because of her family’s decades-long roots in the Rio-Grande Valley and her ability to self-finance a campaign, an observer told Braddock she could clear the field of any opposition. Also considering would be Sara Stapleton-Barrera, who previously challenged Lucio in the Democratic primary and took him to a runoff in 2020. Lastly, there is state Rep. Alex Dominguez (D-Brownsville), who has been mulling a congressional bid but may also seek Lucio’s seat. On Wednesday, he sent out an email to supporters attacking Sen. Lucio as a tool of Republicans.
Morgan LaMantia is an attorney in McAllen. I don’t know anything else about her. I doubt anyone can truly clear the field, but it may well be that one person can dominate the finance reports. We’ll see about that.
As for the redrawn SD27, Biden actually carried it by 4.7 points in 2020, easily making SD27 the closest Senate district on either side. That said, it was a little bluer in other races – Chrysta Castaneda won it by ten points, and the Democratic statewide judicial candidates won it by a range of six to 11 points. As we have discussed elsewhere, this is a district that moved towards Republicans in 2020, and who knows what 2022 and beyond will bring. Lucio’s retirement will surely make this an attractive target for the Republicans.
I’m not going to miss Eddie Lucio. He’s been a pain in the rear for a long time. I expect there to be a big field to try to succeed him. I’ll be keeping an eye on it.