Former Texas GOP Rep. Ralph Hall dead at 95

Former Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), the oldest-ever member of the House, died Thursday at the age of 95, The Associated Press reports. 

Ed Valentine, Hall’s longterm strategist, told the AP the former lawmaker passed away at his home in the morning.

{mosads}Hall was 91 when he left office in 2014, breaking the record of former Rep. Charles Manly Stedman (D-N.C.) who died at 89 while serving in Congress.

Hall was first elected as a Democrat in 1980 to represent a district near Dallas, but switched to the Republican Party in 2004. He had consistently been one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress prior to that point.

Hall was defeated in 2014 after a primary challenge from Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas).

Hall was a longtime member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and later served a stint as the chairman of the House Science Committee in 2010.