Sixth Texas Republican decides to retire, not seek re-election in 2020
U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry makes six.
The Republican from the Panhandle announced Monday that he won’t seek another term in Congress, making him the sixth Texas Republican in Congress to not seek re-election.
He follows Mike Conaway of Midland, Will Hurd of Helotes, Pete Olson of Sugar Land, Kenny Marchant of Coppell and Bill Flores of Bryan.
“We are reminded ... that ‘for everything there is a season,’ and I believe that the time has come for a change,” Thornberry, R-Clarendon, said in a statement released Monday morning. “Therefore, this is my last term in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Thornberry represents the 13th Congressional District, which stretches northwest through 41 counties from the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs to Amarillo.
His news quickly reverberated across Texas political circles.
“Saddened to hear of the retirement of @MacTXPress,” Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush tweeted. “His work in the House Armed Services Committee will leave a lasting impact on our nation’s military operations.”
Democrats say this bodes well for their party in Texas.
“Congressman Thornberry is now the sixth Texas Republican to retire as the DCCC’s early and aggressive investment in Texas’s swing districts lays the groundwork for victory in 2020,” Lucinda Guinn, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement. “While we steadily invest in the Lone Star State, Washington Republicans just flew into Texas to declare they’ll win back the majority and jetted away without a plan to stop the Texodus.”
Thornberry, 61, has been in office since 1995 and has been a key defender of the military.
He served as a ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee in recent years — and chaired the committee for two terms.
That made him particularly important to Tarrant County, home to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Lockheed Martin and Bell.
“With over a year to go, I will continue to represent the people of the 13th District to the best of my ability,” Thornberry said in his statement. “Our nation faces many difficult challenges, and none of us can relax our efforts to meet and overcome them, whether at home or around the world.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 11:21 AM.
