Another GOPer is running away...

Marchant becomes latest Texas Republican to retire from Congress

By LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ

Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) announced Monday he will not seek reelection next year, adding another member to the rapidly growing House GOP retirement list and opening a newly competitive Dallas-area seat.

“It is time for me to announce that I will not seek another term as congressman from the 24th District of Texas," Marchant said in a statement. "I am looking forward to finishing out my term and then returning to Texas to start a new chapter."

Marchant's seat is a top target for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who plans to invest in flipping a slate of Texas seats occupied by Republicans that have rapidly shifted more Democratic in recent years. Marchant won reelection last year by only 3 points against a Democratic candidate who only spent $96,000 for the entire cycle.

President Donald Trump carried Marchant's seat by 6 percentage points in 2016, but his margin was much smaller than Mitt Romney's 22-point win four years earlier.

“For the last 40 years, I have served my fellow North Texans, starting in local government as the Mayor and as a city council member of Carrollton, then to Austin as a 9-term State Representative, and then on to serving today in Washington, D.C.," said Marchant. "What a wonderful opportunity it has been to serve them, and I want to thank them for trusting in me."

Marchant is the fourth Texas Republican to decide against running again in 2020 and the 11th House Republican to announce retirement. The New York Times first reported Marchant's plans to leave Congress.

Air Force veteran Kim Olson, the Democratic nominee for state agriculture commissioner last year, announced her candidacy in June. Jan McDowell, the Democrat Marchant defeated in 2018, is also running again.