Oldest member of Congress won’t be back

ROCKWALL, Texas (AP) — The 91-year-old Texas Republican who is the oldest-ever member of the U.S. House has been ousted in a primary runoff.

Little-known Republican primary challenger John Ratcliffe defeated Rep. Ralph Hall in the first runoff he'd ever faced. Hall, who once had a brush with the notorious outlaws Bonnie and Clyde, first came to Congress in 1980.

He asked voters in his northeastern Texas district to elect him for an 18th term, promising it would be his last.

Backed by national conservative groups, the 48-year-old Ratcliffe used modern analytics to better target voters.

I

n Texas' March primary, Hall won 45 percent of the vote compared to Ratcliffe's nearly 29 percent - but since no one won a majority in a six-way race, Hall was forced into the first runoff his congressional career.

Ratcliffe was backed by the Club for Growth and Senate Conservatives Fund, but Hall bristled at the notion that he's not conservative enough. He won endorsements from tea party favorite Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota and leading Christian conservative voice and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Hall countered with a traditional campaigning style, though he too was endorsed by some top tea party activists.

No Democrat is running, ensuring Ratcliffe will win in November.