Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, announced Monday that he will not seek reelection and will launch a campaign for Tarrant County judge — a move driven largely by Texas' latest redistricting overhaul, which shifted his political base into a Republican stronghold.
Veasey, who has represented Texas' 33rd Congressional District since it was created in 2013, said in a statement that the decision reflects where he believes he can "best serve the people of Tarrant County" while helping strengthen Democrat leadership locally.
His announcement came amid political reshuffling triggered by the Texas Legislature's GOP-drawn congressional map, a redistricting plan that could net Republicans as many as five additional House seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
Under the new map, Veasey's district was dramatically reconfigured. The Legislature removed every Tarrant County precinct from TX-33 — the core of Veasey's political base — and shifted his Fort Worth residence into the solidly Republican 25th District, represented by GOP Rep. Roger Williams.
While members of Congress are not required to live within their district, the new lines effectively erased the constituency that originally sent Veasey to Washington, prompting him to consider other options.
The redistricting has also complicated Democrat plans elsewhere. Veasey had been widely expected to run for the seat being vacated by Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who formally launched her Senate campaign Monday after former Rep. Colin Allred exited the race.
But Crockett's district — Texas' 30th Congressional District — now stretches heavily into Dallas County, despite still containing more than 200,000 Tarrant County residents — many of whom were once part of Veasey's own district.
Texas Republicans have aggressively defended the map, calling it a lawful reflection of population shifts. Democrats, however, argue it was designed to dilute minority political power and collapse Democrat-leaning communities into GOP-favored districts.
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