After 17 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, announced Tuesday evening that he will not seek re-election in 2018.

Poe's Second Congressional District of Texas includes the Lake Houston area, portions of Spring, Cypress, Montrose and the Medical Center near downtown Houston.



Poe served on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.

He was elected in 2004 after serving for 22 years as a criminal court judge in Houston. Poe also spent eight years in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

The decision came on the heels of a six-month battle with cancer for Poe. He announced his Leukemia was in remission in January.