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Said Kay Granger last year at the time she announced she would not seek reelection: “The United States of America is the greatest country in the world because of our people and the vision of our Founding Fathers who created a nation that ensures every man, woman and child has the opportunity to succeed.”
While watching the Texas Rangers pursue the unthinkable on Tuesday night — a World Series championship — we were greeted with another bombshell during the middle innings.
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) will not seek reelection in 2024, according to the Fort Worth Report and KERA, which cited several unnamed sources.
On Wednesday morning, Granger, 80, confirmed the reporting, formally announcing that she would not seek another term in office, which she has held since first being elected in 1996.
It is a setback in terms of representation for Texas and, specifically, Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Granger rose to become one of the most powerful members of Congress as the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, the first woman to head the appropriations committee.
“I have been able to accomplish more in this life than I could have imagined, and I owe it all to my incredible family, staff, friends, and supporters,” Granger said in a statement. “The United States of America is the greatest country in the world because of our people and the vision of our Founding Fathers who created a nation that ensures every man, woman and child has the opportunity to succeed.”
In her statement, Granger said that she planned to serve out the remainder of her term, which will end in January 2025.
“Serving my community has been the greatest honor, and I have always fought to improve the lives of my constituents,” she said.
Granger’s District 12 includes much of west Tarrant County and Parker County.
Granger began her political career as a member of the Fort Worth City Council. That position served as a springboard for becoming the first female mayor of Fort Worth, and later the first Republican woman elected to the House from Texas.
She has served under seven speakers of the house, including Newt Gingrich of Georgia, Dennis Hastert of Illinois, Nancy Pelosi of California, John Boehner of Ohio, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Kevin McCarthy of California, and, now, Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
She has also served alongside five presidential administrations.
“As I announce my decision to not seek re-election, I am encouraged by the next generation of leaders in my district. It’s time for the next generation to step up and take the mantle and be a strong and fierce representative for the people,” Granger said. “Although I am not running for re-election, I plan to serve out the remainder of my term and work with our new Speaker and my colleagues to advance our conservative agenda and finish the job I was elected to do.”
District 12 has been represented by only three people since 1954.
Jim Wright rose to speaker of the house during a 34-year career that ended in 1989. Pete Geren succeeded Wright and served until 1997, announcing that he would not seek a fourth full term. The two were the last in a long line of Democrats who held the District 12 seat, which, before the election of Granger, had remained blue since 1897.
The election of Granger marked a political shift in Tarrant County — part of a mid-90’s Republican surge in Texas as a whole — with the seat remaining comfortably Republican for almost three decades. Granger was most recently reelected with 64% of the vote in 2022.
“Congresswoman Kay Granger is a trailblazer in every sense of the word,” Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said in a post on the social media platform X. “For decades she has served tirelessly in D.C. and at home in Fort Worth as a leading voice on matters of national defense and fiscal responsibility.”
Speculation immediately centered on two possible successors.
One of those is Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, who is in the midst of her second term. The other is District 97 state Rep. Craig Goldman, chair of the Texas House Republican Caucus.
“He’s running,” said one insider.
Granger was a champion of defense spending in Congress, including Lockheed Martin’s F-35. She was also a chief advocate of the controversial Panther Island project, a flood control and economic development project that has received its share of news coverage over the cost and delays.
Granger and Democratic colleague Marc Veasey of Fort Worth helped secure a $400 million infusion from the Army Corps of Engineers in 2022 to put the project back on solid footing.
More recently, she was in the middle of the House commotion over the speaker of the house, joining a group of 20 Republican colleagues who successfully blocked Ohio Republican Jim Jordan’s bid.
In the process, Granger received a vote of her own for the job.
In January, rather than retiring, Granger indicated that she would run again, telling a gathering celebrating Texas A&M’s decision to build a campus downtown that she planned to remain in Congress until the project was completed. That’s not projected to be done until 2027.
“I think she’s tired,” one source told the Fort Worth Report.
Said Parker: “She has led with strength, tenacity, and character both in Congress and during her tenure as our city’s Mayor, and the lasting impact of her leadership cannot be overstated. I am proud to count Kay as a mentor and friend and wish her well in this next stage of leadership.”