At least one Congressional seat will have a new person sitting in it next year.
Rep. Randy Neugebauer
U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, announced Thursday that he would not seek re-election in 2016.
Neugebauer, who has represented his West Texas district in Congress since 2003, plans to finish his current term.
“To say that this has been an honor would be an understatement,” Neugebauer said in a statement. “Representing the citizens of the Big Country and West Texas has been one of the most rewarding times in my life.”
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Buzz had been mounting in recent months that Neugebauer was planning to retire. Texas’ Congressional District 19 is expected to stay in Republican hands, and the primary will all but determine who will follow Neugebauer in Congress.
Immediate speculation for possible successors centered on state Sen. Charles Perry and state Rep. Dustin Burrows — both Lubbock Republicans — as well as Lubbock attorney Allen Adkins. Other names include Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson; Tom Sell, the managing partner of Combest, Sell and Associates; and former Texas Tech Vice Chancellor Jodey Arrington.
Perry does not plan to run for the seat, according to Jordan Berry, his political consultant.
Asked about his interest in the seat, Burrows issued a statement that did not rule out a run.
“Today is Congressman Neugebauer’s day to enjoy the knowledge that he’ll no longer need to commute to Washington, D.C., and to revel in a career protecting West Texas from an overreaching federal government,” Burrows said. “On behalf of West Texans and the Burrows family, we thank him for his service to our nation.”
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Tea Party groups have struggled to oust federal incumbents in Texas, and organizations like the Madison Project say they see an opportunity in open-seat races like this one now is, setting up a potential clash between the Tea Party and an establishment candidate.
“I think the Washington establishment is always going to get want who they think they can get, and the local establishment is going to want who they want, and it will not always gel with the Washington establishment,” Berry said.
“The conservative base may want something completely different,” he added. “This could go several different ways.”
This primary will also take place on March 1, when U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a conservative favorite, is poised to be on the ballot in the presidential race. Neugebauer’s son Toby has emerged as one of the top donors to Cruz’s presidential effort, giving $10 million to a super PAC supporting the senator. Toby Neugebauer, co-founder of the Houston private-equity firm Quantum Energy Partners, was recently replaced by evangelical leader David Barton as the head of a cluster of pro-Cruz groups.
Yeah, I think we see how this is likely to go. Neugebauer wasn’t exactly the brightest light out there, but it seems fair to say that our Congressional delegation is about to get dimmer. And louder.
This may have the effect of creating another vacancy in the House – it would appear unlikely to create on in the Senate as well, as Sen. Perry would have to give up his seat to try for CD19, and it looks like he’s not interested in that – but the vacancy it’s creating in Congress is a relative rarity in Texas. Here’s a list of the members of Congress as of January, 2005, and the same list as of January, 2015:
Dist 2005 2015
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01 Gohmert Gohmert
02 Poe Poe
03 Johnson Johnson
04 Hall Ratcliffe
05 Hensarling Hensarling
06 Barton Barton
07 Culberson Culberson
08 Brady Brady
09 Green Green
10 McCall McCall
11 Conaway Conaway
12 Granger Granger
13 Thornberry Thornberry
14 Paul Weber
15 Hinojosa Hinojosa
16 Reyes O'Rourke
17 Edwards Flores
18 Jackson Lee Jackson Lee
19 Neugebauer Neugebauer
20 Gonzalez Castro
21 Smith Smith
22 DeLay Olson
23 Bonilla Hurd
24 Marchant Marchant
25 Doggett Williams
26 Burgess Burgess
27 Ortiz Farenthold
28 Cuellar Cuellar
29 Green Green
30 Johnson Johnson
31 Carter Carter
32 Sessions Sessions
Of the 32 seats that existed in 2005, 23 have the same incumbent now, with one of those incumbents from 2005 (Rep. Lloyd Doggett) moving to a different district thanks to redistricting. Of the eight who are no longer in Congress, only Ron Paul, who stepped down in 2012 to run for President, and Charlie Gonzalez, who retired in 2012, left on their own terms. Tom DeLay resigned in 2006 under the cloud of indictment. Ralph Hall (2014) and Silvestre Reyes (2012) lost in primaries, while Henry Bonilla (2006), Chet Edwards (2010), and Solomon Ortiz (2010) lost in general elections. We’ve seen a lot of turnover in recent years in the State House, but the US House in Texas is a different story. Trail Blazers and Juanita have more.