Texas Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, will forego reelection in 2012, he announced Friday.
"I still find the job hugely rewarding, but the demands pull me somewhere else," Gonzalez told the San Antonio Express-News on Friday. "I've been in Congress for 14 years and I want to do something else ? what that is I really don't know. But financially I would like to be productive and have the resources to make a better life."
Continue ReadingGonzalez, a seven-term Democrat, is slated to hold a Saturday press conference in San Antonio to discuss his decision, according to his office.
Gonzalez becomes the 17th House Democrat to announce he will not seek reelection. Seven House Republicans will not seek another term in 2012.
His exit marks the end of an era: a Gonzalez family member has held a seat in the House for more than five decades, and the Gonzalez name is a staple in the San Antonio political world. In 1999, Gonzalez, a former district court judge, succeeded his father, former Rep. Henry Gonzalez, who began his congressional tenure in 1961.
Democrats familiar with Gonzalez's decision say they expect the retirement will have an electoral ripple effect. State Rep. Joaquin Castro will likely run for the seat and former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez is expected to run for a nearby district. The filing period for candidates to declare their intentions to run for Congress in Texas opens on Monday.
Gonzalez's decision comes amid high tensions surrounding the state's redistricting process. On Wednesday, a San Antonio-based federal court released a proposed interim congressional map that would position Democrats to gain as many as three seats in the state. The court was tasked with drawing an interim congressional map while a Republican-drawn plan, approved by the state Legislature earlier this year, is in limbo in a Washington, D.C. court over whether it dilutes minority voting strength.
Republicans have complained bitterly about the proposed map, alleging it favors Democrats. On Friday, the San Antonio court denied a request from state Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican, to stay the interim plan. Abbott immediately announced that he would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Under the court's proposed map, Gonzalez would have been able to run for an eighth term in a San Antonio-area district that strongly favored a Democrat.
His decision might come as a surprise to some. Gonzalez raised more than $136,000 in the third quarter ? a decent sum that does not typically indicate an impending retirement.
Jonathan Allen contributed to this report.
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