(UnitedVoice.com) – A long-serving Republican congresswoman has apparently decided not to run for re-election next year, according to reports. Representative Kay Granger (R-TX) has been in Congress for 26 years, but she seems to have outlived her welcome. Now, someone younger will get a chance.
Norvell Kay Granger was born in Greenville, Texas, on January 18, 1943. Her political career began on the Greenville Zoning Commission, and then, in 1991, she was elected as the city’s first female mayor. After she’d served two terms, Democratic Congressman Pete Geren, who represented the state’s 12th congressional district, announced that he planned to retire — and both parties decided they wanted Granger to replace him. In the end, she decided to run as a Republican and won with 56% of the vote. Since then, she’s only faced a real challenge once, in 2000.
Lately, though, Granger’s grip on the seat has been loosening. At 80, she’s been facing criticism over her mental capacity. Things really came to a head during the recent elections for a new House speaker. Granger’s district supported Jim Jordan (R-OH) for the job, but she didn’t. On the first ballot, she voted against him, and kept voting against him until he was knocked out of the race.
Then, her capability to keep working came up again when Mike Johnson (R-LA) entered the race (and won). Granger voted for Mike Rogers (R-AL) instead — then realized what she’d done and changed her vote.
After the election, rumors began to surface that Granger had decided not to run again. The “Fort Worth Report” was first to break the news, saying “five well-placed sources” had told them she wouldn’t seek re-election. At first, Granger, who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said she hadn’t made any decision yet — but on November 1, she announced that she’d made up her mind. One source said, “I think she’s tired.”
At 80, and after more than a quarter century on Capitol Hill, that isn’t a huge surprise.
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