A 12 termer with 70% of the vote last time? Damn. Internal GOP polling must be approaching the event horizon. |
It’s no fun being in the House minority. And he may lose his seat anyway after redistricting - Illinois is going to lose one or two seats. |
So why announce it? |
And another one from Texas
https://www.axios.com/bill-flores-retirement-texas-house-republican-1048f6b5-d746-4de2-b933-8a72faa85569.html
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Yeowch - a Wisconsin Republican isn't running for reelection. He's been in Congress in 1978.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/459998-republican-jim-sensenbrenner-announces-he-wont-seek-reelection
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Wow. Sensenbrenner is the second most senior House member. One thing I heard today in an interview with a reporter with the Texas Tribune - about Flores’ retirement before this broke - was that think about all the money that these popular guys in safer districts who have been around for a decade+ raise that they don’t end up needing, precisely because they’re longtime incumbents of safe seats. That money then gets redistributed to other candidates who do need it. So there are fewer popular incumbents raising money, and more money that needs to be spent to defend shakier candidates or for the new candidates they hope to flip seats. |
On the D side, Susan Davis will not run again for her safe D seat in San Diego.
https://susandavis.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395162 |
Growing up Minnesotan, Sensenbrenner was a big enough presence that I knew his name on the other side of the state. |
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Darrell Issa to run for Duncan Hunter’s seat?
http://www.rollcall.com/news/campaigns/former-rep-darrell-issa-is-launching-an-exploratory-committee-for-rep-duncan-hunters-seat |
Eeeew. |
Trump put this out on Twitter today trying to deflect blame for all the GOP House retirements:
“House Republicans should allow Chairs of Committees to remain for longer than 6 years. It forces great people, and real leaders, to leave after serving. The Dems have unlimited terms. While that has its own problems, it is a better way to go. Fewer people, in the end, will leave!” By the way, no longer being eligible to chair a committee doesn’t actually force you to retire. |
Ouch. “But now the Republican who ran for Issa’s seat last cycle with his blessing is blasting the man she sought to replace. “Issa: The wrong candidate for all the ‘Right’ reasons,” reads a missive from Diane Harkey obtained by POLITICO. Last cycle, she suffered one of the most lopsided defeats among the seven seats Democrats flipped in California. The scathing letter from Harkey blasts Issa as “a quitter who neglected his own constituents for years and cost us a once reliably Republican Congressional District,” and argues he undercut her campaign for the 49th District last year by waffling on whether to run and then casting doubt on the seat’s winnability — including by going on Fox News and saying a Democrat would win the district.” https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2019/09/11/issa-blasted-by-former-gop-ally-as-he-considers-new-congressional-bid-1183727 |
Wisconsin Republican says she's not running for Congress
https://www.wpr.org/leah-vukmir-not-running-congress
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