Wasn’t this jackass a Democrat until 2004?
I think you repeated yourself. :-)
In all seriousness: yes, Hall was first elected to this district in 1980 as a Democrat. He switched to the Republican party just before the primary in 2004.
But, he was a Blue Dog Democrat, and part of the coalition in the House to pass conservative economic policies during the Reagan administration. He also voted for most of the articles of impeachment against Clinton, and endorsed Bush in 2000.
He was a conservative Texas Democrat, which were common during that era. But, I think it was time for him to retire.