Zerwas to retire from Dist. 28 House post
State Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down Sept. 30, ending his tenure in the Texas House after 12 years.
Zerwas, an anesthesiologist first elected in 2006, chaired the influential House Appropriations Committee during the last two legislative sessions. His Fort Bend County district runs from Simonton to Mission Bend and Katy to Rosenberg.
“It has been an absolute honor to represent House District 28, and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish over the last 12 years,” Zerwas said in a statement. “I have served under three Speakers, and each of them gave me incredible opportunities to lead for which I am grateful.”
After retiring, Zerwas said he will continue to “serve Texas in another capacity” but did not provide details about his plans.
Zerwas lives in the 22nd Congressional District in the Houston area, one of the hottest battleground districts in the state. Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Olson announced last week he would not seek re-election, but Zerwas said he has “zero interest” in running for Congress. In a text message, he said he does not want to live in Washington, D.C., most of the time or give up practicing medicine.
Zerwas’ district is also primed for a tight political race. While Zerwas won his re-election by a comfortable 8 percentage points, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz narrowly edged out Democrat Beto O’Rourke, 51-48.
During his seven terms in the House, Zerwas also served as chair of the Higher Education Committee. An ally of former speaker Joe Straus, he mounted a run for speaker immediately after Straus announced in October 2017 that he would retire.
Zerwas dropped out of the speaker’s race a year later and got behind state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, who as speaker tapped Zerwas to chair the budgetwriting appropriations committee. “I am especially proud of the work we were able to accomplish this most recent session, and a lot of the success is due to the leadership of Speaker Dennis Bonnen,” Zerwas said.
In 2018, Zerwas’ eight-point win marked the narrowest margin of his career and the first general election challenge he faced since 2010. Democrat Eliz Markowitz, a candidate last year for the Texas State Board of Education, is running for Zerwas’ seat.
Even before Zerwas’ announcement, Texas Democrats viewed his district as a key chance to pick up one of the nine seats they must flip to regain control of the Texas House for the first time since 2003.
The stakes are especially high because the next Legislature will draw new congressional and state district maps, which will go into effect through 2030. Though Republicans are expected to easily hold the Senate, the House represents Democrats’ chance to weigh in on Texas’ political maps.
Many of the battleground House districts are in the Dallas and Houston metro areas. Just north of Zerwas’ district, Democrats will look to hold on to two competitive seats held by freshman state Reps. Gina Calanni and Jon Rosenthal, while flipping the district long held by state Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston.
The three districts are clustered largely in the fast diversifying west Harris County suburbs.
Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that he may appoint state Rep. Rick Miller, R-Sugar Land, to head Texas’ Department of Family and Protective Services. Miller won re-election to his Fort Bend County district by about 5 percentage points in 2018.