Texas State Senator Kel Seliger Not Seeking Re-Election

Kel Seliger has been in the state senate since 2005 but he is not seeking re-election in 2022.

According to NewsWest 9, the announcement came Wednesday in a press release.

“After thoughtful consideration and with the reassurance of my family, including my new very vocal granddaughter, I have decided not to be a candidate for re-election to the Texas Senate. From my first campaign in 1989 to today, I have felt overwhelmingly proud to serve the Panhandle, South Plains, and the Permian Basin," Seliger said in the press release.

He served in several committees in the Texas Senate like the Health and Human Services Committee, the Veteran Affairs Committee, Border Security Committee, and was the chair of the Higher Education Committee.

Seliger has recently broken with Republican leadership as he said was in deference to his constituents.

He was the only Republican who openly opposed legislation banning COVID-19 vaccine requirements pushed by Governor Greg Abbott and said the proposal was "anti-business."

He also had several conflicts with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in 2017 voting against a couple of his legislative priorities like the bill restricting local governments' abilities to raise property tax revenues and his bill providing private school vouchers.

This caused Patrick to strip Seliger of his chairmanship of the Higher Education Committee and Seliger has not led a committee since.

Seliger went on in the press release to say: “I am no less dedicated to the fundamental principles of smaller government, local control, and real fiscal conservatism as I was when I first ran for the Texas Senate. I will continue to serve the great constituents of Senate District 31 for the remainder of my term."

The election for the seat Seliger is vacating will take place in 2022.