For most of Texas’ 35 U.S. House members seeking reelection, 2024 will be carefree

WASHINGTON — Texas has 38 seats in the U.S. House. Nearly all will be filled by the same people after the next election.

Of 35 incumbents seeking reelection, more than half drew no challenger in the March 5 primary.

Those who do face a contested primary are all but assured of reelection once they secure the nomination because of the way the district boundaries have been drawn.

Candidates had until Monday night to file.

Of the 18 lawmakers who’ll skate through the primaries, only one faces a serious challenge from the other party.

Nine of those 18 drew no opponent from the other party, either, so they’re already assured reelection before a single ballot is cast.

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell (right), at a House Judiciary Committee meeting Feb. 1, 2023….
Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell (right), at a House Judiciary Committee meeting Feb. 1, 2023. Gooden drew no opponent in the 2024 primary or general election.(J. Scott Applewhite / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
That carefree list includes six Republicans and three Democrats, including one Dallas-area lawmaker: Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, faces no opponent in the primary or the fall as he seeks a fourth term.

Lawmakers from two nearby districts will get through the primaries untouched: Reps. Beth Van Duyne, an Irving Republican, and Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat.

Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, reacts as President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union…
Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, reacts as President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address on Feb. 7, 2023.(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
Both will face challengers from the other party in November. But that’s unlikely to keep them up at night, given the districts’ historical voting patterns and demographics.

In Laredo, Rep. Henry Cuellar, one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, escaped a primary challenge. Progressives gunned hard for him the last two elections, pouring millions into failed efforts to push him out. He’s unlikely to struggle in November.

The only incumbent with a real race on his hands is Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district “lean Democrat,” a step up from toss-up. But Republican Mayra Flores has run aggressively for months. She won a special election and served in Congress for a few months in 2022 in a different district before losing to Gonzalez that November.

Voters will see lots of action in the next three months in a trio of North Texas districts where retirements set off stampedes for a rare open seat.

District 32
In Dallas, Rep. Colin Allred is seeking the Democratic nod to face Sen. Ted Cruz. Of the eight Democrats vying for the seat, the most prominent are state Rep. Julie Johnson and trauma surgeon Brian Williams.

Two senior Republicans are retiring after long careers.

District 12
Fort Worth Rep. Kay Granger, who chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee, is leaving after 14 terms. She’ll turn 81 next month.

Five Republicans are vying for her seat. State Rep. Craig Goldman is backed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Businessman John O’Shea has state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s endorsement.

District 26Rep. Michael Burgess of Pilot Point, is retiring after 11 terms. He’ll turn 73 next week.
Ten GOP candidates filed for the seat, and the contest is shaping up as a microcosm of tensions within the Republican Party.

Brandon Gill, a conservative media executive, has former president Donald Trump’s backing.

Gill has also gotten a boost from his father-in-law Dinesh D’Souza, the political commentator pardoned by Trump in 2018 for violating federal campaign law; in 2014, D’Souza pleaded guilty to directing two associates to donate $10,000 to a Senate candidate, then reimbursing them. Gill moved to the district only a year ago. He jump-started the campaign with $250,000 of his own money.

Scott Armey, a former Denton County judge and now an investment adviser, also is seeking the seat.

His roots in the district go back decades: His father Dick Armey, is the former House majority leader and godfather of the tea party. He held the seat before Burgess. Scott Armey tried to succeed his father in 2002 but lost to Burgess in a primary runoff.

Armey’s focus on fiscal restraint stands in sharp contrast to Gill’s positioning as a partisan warrior.

Other candidates include Southlake Mayor John Huffman and Doug Robison, who stepped down as a state district judge to seek the seat.

If no candidate gets past 50% in the primary, the race goes to a May 28 runoff.