An Update on Who's Not Coming Back Next Year

With the filing deadline passed and the electoral maps finalized at last, we've updated the 2012 quit list.

Thirty members — that’s about 20 percent — of the Texas House have said they won't seek re-election. That includes seven Democrats and 23 Republicans. Looked at another way, it includes 17 members who are leaving to run for other offices including district attorney, state Senate, Congress and the Railroad Commission. Thirteen of the members are leaving with no announced plans for public office. 

The House list so far: Jose Aliseda, R-Beeville; Rodney Anderson, R-Grand Prairie; Barbara Mallory Caraway, D-Dallas; Erwin Cain, R-Como;  Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio; Warren Chisum, R-Pampa; Joe Driver, R-Garland; Pete Gallego, D-Alpine; Veronica Gonzales, D-McAllen; Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills; Rick Hardcastle, R-Vernon; Will Hartnett, R-Dallas; Scott Hochberg, D-Houston; Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land; Jim Jackson, R-Dallas; Ken Legler, R-Pasadena; Lanham Lyne, R-Wichita Falls; Jerry Madden, R-Richardson; Ken Paxton, R-McKinney; Aaron Peña, R-Edinburg; Chente Quintanilla, D-Tornillo; Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown; Todd Smith, R-Bedford;  Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth; Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton; Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood; Raul Torres, R-Corpus Christi; Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth; Randy Weber, R-Pearland; and Beverly Woolley, R-Houston.

Four state senators are leaving: Chris Harris, R-Arlington; Mike Jackson, R-La Porte; Steve Ogden, R-Bryan; and Florence Shapiro, R-Plano. Jackson, who's running for Congress, is the only one in that group seeking another office right now. 

Three members of the State Board of Education won't be running: Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi; Bob Craig, R-Lubbock; and Marsha Farney, R-Georgetown. Farney is running for an open House seat.

And two members of the congressional delegation are leaving: Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio; and Ron Paul, R-Surfside. Gonzalez is done; Paul is running for president.

There will also be one more name to add to the list of legislators not coming back to the Texas House depending on the outcome of the race between Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton, R-Mauriceville, and James White, R-Woodville, two incumbents who running against each other in a primary. Only one of them can survive.