Michael Burgess Becomes Third North Texas Representative to Retire in 2024
The Republican becomes the 27th retirement overall of the upcoming election cycle.
Representative Michael Burgess of Texas, a Republican, has today announced that he will not seek an eleventh term representing the state’s 26th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. His statement announcing his retirement can be read here.
Burgess, 72, is the 27th retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives for the upcoming 2024 cycle - 17 Democrats and 10 Republicans. Notably, he becomes the third House member representing parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area to retire - joining Republican Kay Granger and Democrat Colin Allred.
Burgess has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 2003. Texas’ 26th Congressional District covers parts of Cooke, Wise and Denton Counties - taking in the suburban cities of Corinth, Carrollton, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Little Elm and The Colony.
In 2002, Burgess won the Republican primary to succeed nine-term Republican incumbent Dick Armey in Texas’ 26th Congressional District. Following the 2021 round of redistricting however, Burgess’ hometown of Denton was removed from the district to make it more Republican. Despite growing Democratic support in recent years, Burgess always comfortably won re-election with at least 59% of the vote.
For the 118th Congress, Burgess serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on Rules, and the House Committee on the Budget.
No candidates have yet announced their campaigns for the Republican nomination to succeed Burgess in the U.S. House of Representatives. Kelvin Leaphart previously announced a campaign for the Democratic primary. The district is still expected to remain safely Republican.
Under the previous lines, Donald Trump won Texas 26th Congressional District with a 59-40 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.