Rep. Andrew Murr, who led the impeachment effort against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in May, announced Monday that he would not seek re-election to the Texas House of Representatives.
Murr (R-Junction) made the announcement in a retirement letter that he sent to his constituents and posted on Facebook.
In the letter, Murr wrote that he has “drawn on every ounce of work ethic and determination that I acquired from my ranching family roots to represent the values of rural Texas in an increasingly urban and suburban state.”
By the time his current term ends in January 2025, Murr will have spent a full decade working with the Texas House since being elected in 2015.
Murr cited family obligations as the key reason for his decision, remarking in the letter, “Public service requires sacrifices that too often affect those that you love the most.”
“I’ve missed touchdowns, base hits, school field trips, and summer field strips, and summer fishing trips. I’ve missed birthdays, first steps, and first words. I’ve missed caring for my kids when they’re sick,” he wrote.
“I’ve put ranch work on hold, often to its own detriment, and now — quite literally — cows are calling me home.”
Murr stated in his letter that he has spent the past decade of his life “diligently and thoughtfully representing every person” in his district, regardless of whether they voted for him during the elections.
While he said that he plans to continue to “remain active in the plans God” has for the future, he stated, “Right now, that future includes a wife and kids who need to see more of their husband and dad around the house, at the ballgame, and on the ranch.”
Murr would have likely faced a tough election due to his significance in Paxton’s impeachment, where he served as the chair of the General Investigating Committee.
This committee investigated claims that Paxton abused his power to benefit his political donor and friend, Nate Paul.
Following the investigation, Murr submitted 20 Articles of Impeachment on behalf of the committee and urged House members to impeach the attorney general, resulting in a 121 to 23 vote in favor of impeachment, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Murr also served as the chair of the House Board of Managers, which prosecuted the trial, and took shots at Paxton, claiming that he “turned the keys of the office of the attorney general to Nate Paul.”
The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton on 16 of the 20 articles and dropped the remaining four.
Following the trial, Paxton announced his intentions to file a criminal complaint against the House Board of Managers after they released documents containing his personal address.
Mitch Little, one of the lawyers who defended Paxton in the impeachment trial, slammed the House managers and accused them of purposefully publishing the information.
“Andrew Murr and Ann Johnson, my expectations for you were low, but holy cow. I did not have ‘doxxing the sitting Attorney General and his wife two weeks after the trial is over’ on my bingo card,” he wrote.
Murr stated in his retirement letter that he was prepared to “endure the personal attacks, threats of political retribution and physical harm” that may have come from his position as chair of the General Investigating Committee.
However, he wrote that he wanted to make it “very clear that these threats had no bearing on my decision to retire from the Texas House.”
While Murr has made clear he does not plan to run for re-election to the Texas House, Paxton defense attorney Little has announced his intention to throw his hat in the ring, as The Dallas Express reported.
In a post announcing his plan to run on X, Little declared, “While defending Attorney General Paxton, I had a front row seat to witness the weaponization of state power by a corrupt Texas House to silence conservatives.”
“They squandered millions of dollars on a sham impeachment while hard-working Texans battle inflation and high taxes,” he continued.
“We need leaders in the Texas House who will fight for conservative principles valued by their constituents instead of taking order from liberal House leadership.”
