U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, a Denton County Republican who has held his post for two decades, will not seek re-election next year, he announced Monday.
“It has been the honor of my life to have gone from a small-town doctor delivering babies, with no prior political experience, to elected to represent my friends and neighbors in the United States Congress,” the Lewisville Republican said in a statement Monday afternoon.
My statement on today’s announcement: pic.twitter.com/nApMLsSHCd
— Michael Burgess, MD (@michaelcburgess) November 14, 2023
Burgess, 72, first won the 26th Congressional District seat in 2002 after House Majority Leader Dick Armey, who had held it since the mid-1980s, retired — defeating Armey’s son for the seat. Burgess has since held the comfortably Republican seat, but had four opponents challenging him for the Republican nomination in 2022.
An obstetrician by trade and Congress’ longest-serving doctor, Burgess emerged as a key GOP voice on health care issues.
Burgess — who sits on the House Budget Committee and Rules Committee — joins another longtime Texas Republican in announcing their departure. U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, the state’s first Republican woman in Congress who has held her Fort Worth seat since 1997, will not seek reelection.
Candidates have until Dec. 11 to file for Texas’ March 5 primary.
This Thanksgiving season, I am filled with gratitude as I reflect on the privilege of representing my friends and neighbors in Congress for the past 22 years.
I look forward to continuing to serve #TX26 for the next 13 months. pic.twitter.com/JGtk2CeTkS
— Michael Burgess, MD (@michaelcburgess) November 16, 2023
By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune. This article in its entirety originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/13/michael-burgess-congressional-district-26/.
