Former State Rep. Craig Goldman is taking over for Congresswoman Kay Granger today as the new representative for Texas’ 12th Congressional District, based in Fort Worth.
The 119th session of Congress was sworn in Friday with Republicans holding a razor-this majority.
Goldman served as the state representative for House District 97 from 2013 to 2025, holding the position for 12 years.
As exclusively reported by The Dallas Express, Granger, 81, has been living in a Fort Worth-area elder care facility. She had not voted in Congress since July of last year. She did not seek reelection.
Goldman, a businessman, has said that his top priority as congressman is to push for a federal version of Molly’s Law — state legislation he helped pass in Texas in 2019 to combat sexual predators, according to the Fort Worth Report.
Texas House Bill 3106 was named after college student Molly Jane Matheson, who was raped and strangled to death in Tarrant County. The law requires Texas police to enter information about sex offense cases into the FBI database, leading to a 3,000% increase in cases submitted between 2018 and 2023, the Fort Worth Report reported.
“It’s the most important piece of legislation I ever passed,” Goldman told the Fort Worth Report. “I want to make it law in the United States.”
Goldman recently won the November general election for Congressional District 12, defeating Democrat Trey Hunt by a wide margin, with 63.5% of the vote compared to Hunt’s 36.5%.
Goldman’s election has sparked mixed reactions.
“Congrats sir! You’ll do an excellent job and we are thankful for your service!” former Southlake Mayor John Huffman said on X.
Others were more critical.
“No lies. We know you are not there to represent us!!! Just like Kay Granger only represent her corporate donors we expect nothing but the same from you. So sad that you could care less about your constituents. I pray that your eyes will be opened, and you will be humbled,” CD-12 resident Melinda Akowski wrote on X.