DALLAS — It’s official: Eddie Bernice Johnson is retiring after serving nearly three decades as South Dallas’ congresswoman.


What You Need To Know

  • Texas’ 30th Congressional District is up for grabs after Saturday’s announcement that Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson will retire

  • Johnson has held the South Dallas seat for nearly 30 years

  • Before the announcement, there were three candidates who had launched a campaign, and by Monday, there were at least five confirmed

In a heartfelt speech at an Oak Cliff church on Saturday, Johnson, 85, said she would be stepping down in January as her final term ends.

Within hours of her announcement, a scramble for potential candidates to gear up campaigns to fill her seat to represent Texas’ 30th congressional district had begun. 

Even with the last round of redistricting, in which Texas Republicans were accused of gerrymandering maps to shore up their hold on power while ignoring the state’s diversifying population, Democrats have good reason to believe that the seat will remain blue. 

That makes the race to replace Johnson, who has held the district since 1992, focused on the Democratic primary, which will likely be held on March 1, 2022.

In her Saturday announcement to a crowd of supporters at Kirkwood Temple CME Church in Oak Cliff, Johnson did not mention any names but said she would be looking for a "female that is qualified." 

 “I will retire, and let me assure that I will also recommend to you whom I feel is the best to follow me," she said. 

Johnson ran her final campaign in 2020, saying that if she won, it likely would be her last term representing a district that covers most of South Dallas and down to Desoto, Lancaster and Cedar Hill in Dallas County.

Before Johnson’s announcement, there were at least four candidates who had already announced their campaigns. By Monday, that number seemed to have risen to five. 

Among the first to come forward was Shenita Cleveland, a small-business owner who ran in the 2020 Democratic primary against Johnson.  Although she came in second, she picked up 13% of the vote to Johnson’s 70%. Dallas natives Zachariah Manning and Jessica Mason have also announced their candidacies. Mason is a Navy veteran and progressive candidate who has worked as a community organizer and activist for affordable housing. Abel Mulugheta has also opened a campaign. Mulugheta was once an aide in Johnson’s office and was later chief of staff and legislative director for Texas State Rep. Rafael Anchía. 

A day after Johnson’s announcement, Jane Hamilton, President Joe Biden's Texas state director in the 2020 primary, said she was officially in the race for Texas’ 30th. 

Hamilton formed an exploratory committee in May looking at a possible run for Johnson’s seat. 

Texas State Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who was elected to the 100th House District covering parts of Dallas, has also been rumored to be a potential candidate. On Saturday after Johnson’s announcement, however, she showed no signs that she was ready to declare a campaign but did issue a statement thanking Johnson for her service to the state.

Crockett, a freshman in the 87th Texas Legislature, was one of the dozens of House Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C., in a quorum-breaking move to block the passage of a Republican-led voting reform bill. The bill eventually passed in the legislature’s special session.

Another potential candidate is former State Rep. Barbara Mallory Caraway, who has tried five times unsuccessfully to unseat Johnson in a Democratic primary. Caraway also served briefly on the Dallas City Council.

Johnson hinted Saturday that should any candidates who have opposed her in the past try to run to fill her seat next year, they would not likely receive her endorsement. 

“Anybody that’s already been rejected by this district, they will not be receiving my endorsement,” she said during her press conference in Oak Cliff. 

While State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, was seen as a potential candidate, he has already filed for re-election to his current seat. 

Candidates have until Dec. 13 to file with the Texas Secretary of State for the 2022 primary elections.