Redistricting map could spark a battle royale for Austin Democrats Doggett and Casar

The congressional redistricting map unveiled Wednesday could force an Austin-centered generational battle between one of the Texas Democratic Party's elder statesmen and an up-and-coming firebrand, who in only two terms in Washington has carved out a leadership role in the national progressive movement.

The rewrite of the state's 38 congressional districts effectively combines the city's two Democratic-leaning congressional districts in a move that would pit U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a fixture in Austin politics since 1973, against U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a former workers'-rights organizer who before his first election to Congress in 2022 had served on the Austin City Council.

Both are unabashedly progressive in their representation of the city that is not only Texas' capital, but also the hub of liberalism in a state that has been dominated by Republicans for a generation.

READ MORE: Texas Republicans unveil redistricting map to expand GOP foothold by 5 seats

Both are promising a no-hold-barred fight to keep the GOP-controlled Legislature from enacting the new map that could add as many as five districts to the Republican column, which presently has 25 members in the Texas delegation. And neither is ready to concede that a showdown in next March's Democratic primary.

"This is more than about any one member of Congress," Casar, 36, said in an interview after the map was made public. "This is about the voters of Central Texas being able to pick their congressman, not having Donald Trump pick their congressman. We will fight back with everything we’ve got."

Doggett was first elected to Congress in 1994 after serving as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court and before that in the state Senate. At 78, he is more than twice the age of Casar, who in December, was elected chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. And even though the proposed new map was introduced in the Texas House, Doggett made clear he believes the planned overhaul was orchestrated by the White House.

"Trump is taking a hatchet to chop up Austin and our state with the sole objective of maintaining his one-man rule," Doggett said in a statement. "This is designed to eliminate accessibility, accountability, and a strong voice for our shared values. For years, Republicans have failed in their attempts to use redistricting to get rid of me. If we continue working together, they will fail again."

Doggett has been in the Republicans' cross hairs nearly all of his congressional career. But he has managed to survive GOP-led redistricting in the 2000s, the 2010s and against after the 2020 census findings were released.

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But he and Casar are not the only Congress members in Travis County who would be affected by the new map.

Although the heavily Democratic 37th district, which is a merger of the present District 37 with the present District 35, is contained wholly in Travis County under the proposed map, the heavily Democratic home of Texas' capitol city would be chopped up piecemeal. District 10, held by Republican Michael McCaul since 2005, would take up much of the western slice and would not cross the county line.

Three other Republican districts would each get a sliver of the county. District 11, now represented by August Pfluger, would reach from West of Midland in the Permian Basin all the way to the Texas Capitol in Downtown Austin. District 17, presently anchored by Waco and held by Pete Session, snakes into north Travis County.

And District 27 would capture much of the Coastal Bend and snake its way north and west and grab central Austin in a pincer grip. Republican Michael Cloud of Victoria represents the district now.

Democrats, outnumbered in the Texas House and Senate, have few options to derail the Republican's map.

The proposed map will come up for a public hearing Friday at 10 a.m. Lawmakers have until the special session's ending date of Aug. 19 to agree on a map and send to Abbott to be signed into law.