Rep. Kay Granger to Be Succeeded by Conservative in TX-12 District

Barely 48 hours after 14-term Rep. Kay Granger said she will retire in 2024, maneuvering has begun to succeed the House Appropriations Committee chair as U.S. Representative from Texas’ 12th District (Fort Worth).

It seems a safe bet to say that the successor to Granger, 80, will be decided in the Republican primary on March 5, and will be a conservative activist.

Two candidates who fit that mold have already declared for the Republican nomination. State Rep. Craig Goldman, chairman of the state House GOP Caucus and 10-year legislator, has a strong following within the party and his 97th District covers much of southwest Tarrant County, which accounts for a significant portion of the 12th District.

Already in the race and poised to challenge Granger before her retirement announcement is businessman Joe O’Shea. A Make America Great Again (MAGA) conservative, O’Shea already has the endorsement of controversial-but-popular State Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Hours after Granger’s announcement Wednesday, there was considerable speculation that Brooke Rollins, president of the American First Foundation and a close ally of Donald Trump, would make the race. Rollins, a resident of the 12th District, is well connected in the Fort Worth business community and would almost surely have Trump’s endorsement.

But Rollins moved quickly to douse the speculation.

“I really appreciated the nice words from everyone,” Rollins texted Newsmax on Thursday morning, “But no, I am not interested in Kay’s seat.”

Granger is nothing less than a history-making figure, having been the first woman mayor of Fort Worth, as well as the first female Republican Member of Congress from the Lone Star State and the first Republican woman to chair the Appropriations Committee.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.