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Vela, the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, announced in March 2021 that he would not seek re-election. Filemon Vela will leave Congress in the coming weeks to take a position at the Washington, D.C., law firm Akin Gump. It was the Washington-based outlet Punchbowl. Filemon Vela of Texas, who is serving his fifth term in Congress, confirmed to CNN Monday he will not run for reelection for his House seat in 2022. Ma3:31 PM ET Font Size: Democratic Texas Rep. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans - and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.Ĭorrection, March 24, 2022: A previous version of this story stated that Politico first reported Filemon Vela's resignation. He currently represents the neighboring 15th District based in McAllen. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) is speeding up his departure from Congress, with plans to resign from office in the coming weeks instead of waiting for his term to expire early next year. Filemon Vela, who gave up his congressional seat earlier this year, to push the ports legislative. Vicente Gonzalez, announced last year after redistricting that he would run for Vela’s seat in the wake of Texas redistricting. The Port of Corpus Christi Authority hired a lobbying firm that employs former U.S. His 34th District is based in Brownsville. That development will set off a unique special election to replace him. The Washington-based publication Punchbowl first reported the news Thursday morning, and the Brownsville Democrat confirmed it to The Texas Tribune. The South Texas Democrat will leave before the end of his term to work for Akin Gump, a prominent law and lobbying firm. Filemon Vela confirmed Thursday he will resign from Congress in the coming weeks, a decision that comes after he announced last year he would retire from the House. H.R.6324 117th Congress (2021-2022) Saving America's Future by Educating Kids Act of 2021 Sponsor: Vela, Filemon Rep.-D-TX-34 (Introduced ) Cosponsors: Committees: House - Education and Labor Latest Action: House - Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30) has previously indicated that this would be her final term.U.S. Vela is not expected to be the only Texas Democrat to retire at the end of this term, either, as Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) has officially resigned from Congress, months before the end of his term. Regardless, the retirement of Vela will likely make it easier for the Republicans who control the redistricting process to carve out a seat in South Texas favorable to their party, as it removes a notable incumbent factor out of the equation. However, redistricting itself is also up in the air, as there have been substantial delays in the release of the necessary data from the U.S. What Texas’ 34th Congressional District will look like by the election of 2022 is to be determined, as the Lone Star State is expected to gain three new congressional districts during redistricting later this year. News of the retirements of Vela and Kirkpatrick comes as the border faces an ongoing immigration crisis with Republicans pointing their fingers at the lax policies of the Biden administration. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), a border Democrat in Arizona who also recently announced that she would not be seeking reelection. Look into how much money the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) spent on. Vela spent more than 20 years as a litigator in private practice. Conservation efforts in 34th District of Texas (Rep. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, who currently represents Texas 15th district, is running for Velas job. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-07) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28). Filemon Vela was first elected to serve the 34th Congressional District of Texas in 2012, and was re-elected four times. Velas early departure will set off a special election. In February, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released a list of targets for 2022 that includes Vela and Gonzalez, as well as Reps.
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Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-15), saw an even closer reelection bid as Republicans in South Texas came out in full force, signaling an electoral shift in the border region that the GOP hopes to capitalize on. In 2020, Trump’s share of the vote increased to 48 percent, though Joe Biden still carried the district with 52 percent.Īn analysis from the Daily Kos Elections notes that swing in Trump voters in Vela’s district was the third-largest in the nation, though Vela himself still won reelection handily with 55 percent against his Republican opponent’s 42 percent.Ī neighboring Democrat to Vela, Rep. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Lupe Valdez, carried it against Gov.
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That shifted right in 2018 when Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke carried the district with 58 percent of the vote against Sen. In 2016, Hillary Clinton carried the district with 59 percent of the vote, while Donald Trump only received 37 percent.
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