House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger of Texas Retiring in 2024
The Congresswoman has represented parts of Fort Worth since January 1997.
Representative Kay Granger of Texas, a Republican, has today announced that she will not seek a fifteenth term representative the state’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her retirement comes after she was one of two dozen House Republicans to block Jim Jordan of Ohio from becoming Speaker. However, she joined the rest of the conference in supporting Mike Johnson of Louisiana for the role.
Granger, 80, is the 22nd retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives for the upcoming 2024 cycle - 15 Democrats and 7 Republicans. She is the third House Republican to retire without running for another office - joining Debbie Lesko of Arizona and Victoria Spartz of Indiana.
Granger has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 1997. Texas’ 12th Congressional District combines parts of Fort Worth with the rural Parker County to the west.
After serving on the zoning commission of Fort Worth, Granger made history in 1991 when she was elected as the city’s first female mayor. She made history again in 1996 when she ran for the U.S. House of Representatives and became the first Republican woman in the House delegation from Texas.
Since January 2023, Granger chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee. She will maintain that position for the remainder of the 118th Congress.
Two low-profile Republicans had already entered the 2024 primary for the congressional seat before Granger made her announcement today. No Democrats are currently running. A competitive Republican primary is expected given the state’s congressional gerrymander makes this a relatively safe district for the party. Granger was always re-elected with at least 63% of the vote.
Under the current lines, Donald Trump won Texas’ 12th Congressional District with a 60.5-37.9 finish against Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. That came as Trump was carrying the state 52.06-46.48 in his ultimately unsuccessful national campaign.