Another senior member of the Texas delegation announced his retirement on Monday, but this time, it’s a Democrat who is calling it quits. Rep. Gene Green, who has represented a safely blue seat in the Houston area since 1993, declared that he would not seek another term. Last cycle, Green faced a primary challenge from ex-Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, who was his first credible opponent in decades. Green decisively beat Garcia 57-39, so it’s a bit surprising to see him retire just after all that. Still, Green recently turned 70, so his decision to leave isn’t an utter shock.
Texas’ 29th District, which includes part of Houston and Pasadena, backed Clinton 71-25, and the Democratic nominee should have no trouble winning the general. But Green made his announcement just a month ahead of the Dec. 11 filing deadline, so local Democrats will need to decide pretty quickly. Green, Lloyd Doggett, and Beto O’Rourke (who is leaving the House to run for the Senate) were the last two Caucasian Democrats (known as Anglos in Texas political parlance) to represent Texas in the House, but Latinos make up 73 percent of the district’s residents, so there’s a good chance the seat’s next representative will be Latino. Under Texas election law, if no one takes a majority of the vote in the primary, there will be a runoff.
P.S.: Green is the third House Democrat who has announced so far that he will leave the House without seeking another office (the others are Massachusetts’ Niki Tsongas and New Hampshire’s Carol Shea-Porter.) By contrast, 13 House Republicans are retiring so far.