Rep. Kay Granger, 28-Year Texas House Veteran, Dies at 83

Granger's death closes a congressional tenure that included a chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee, leaving her northwest Texas district without representation pending a special...

Kay Granger, the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas, died Sunday, August 3, 2026, at the age of 83, according to a statement from her son, J.D. Granger, reported by the Associated Press via the Washington Examiner. Granger had represented Texas's 12th Congressional District, centered on Fort Worth, since first winning election in 1996.

Granger served in the House for nearly three decades, during which she rose to chair the House Appropriations Committee — one of the most powerful positions in Congress, responsible for overseeing the annual federal discretionary spending process. Congressional records confirm she held the Appropriations chairmanship beginning in the 118th Congress. Her tenure on that committee spanned multiple administrations and both majority and minority positions for her party.

House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged her death in a post on the social platform X on Sunday, stating that Granger 'broke barriers for women in public service' and describing her as 'a dear friend who will be greatly missed,' according to reporting by the Washington Examiner. Johnson did not specify a timeline for addressing the resulting vacancy in her district.

Granger began her career as a high school teacher and businesswoman before entering elected office, according to the Associated Press. Prior to her congressional service, she served as mayor of Fort Worth, Texas. Her 1996 House victory marked a milestone for Republican women in Texas congressional representation, a distinction documented in congressional historical records maintained by the Office of the Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives.

With Granger's death, Texas's 12th Congressional District is now vacant. Under federal law and Texas state law, the governor of Texas holds authority to call a special election to fill the seat. As of the publication of this article, no announcement of a special election date has been made by Governor Greg Abbott's office. The timeline, candidate filing requirements, and any primary process that may apply remain unknown; the Texas Secretary of State's official election calendar would be the governing public document once a proclamation is issued.