Back in October, we told you about some House Democrats who are heading for the exits. Now there are two more.
Over a dozen House Democrats have indicated that they will not seek reelection. This is terrible news for Democrats, who are already clinging to a House majority by only a thread.
Rep. Jackie Speier of California made her announcement this week.
Politico reports:
Rep. Jackie Speier retiring from CongressRep. Jackie Speier on Tuesday announced she would not seek reelection to Congress next year, becoming the latest House Democrat to opt against running for another term.”It’s time for me to come home — time for me to be more than a weekend wife, mother and friend,” Speier (D-Calif.) said in a video statement. “It’s been an extraordinary privilege and honor to represent the people of San Mateo County and San Francisco at almost every level of government for nearly four decades.”An ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Speier ascended to Congress in 2008, replacing the late Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), who died in office earlier that year.Prior to joining the House, Speier was a longtime member of California’s state legislature and a congressional aide. In 1978, when working as a staff assistant for then-Rep. Leo Ryan (D-Calif.), Speier was part of the U.S. investigative delegation that visited the Jonestown cult community in Guyana.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina is also calling it quits.
The Associated Press reports:
Democrat Rep. Butterfield to retire, new district is toss-upU.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield announced Thursday that he will not seek reelection, another blow to Democrats seeking to retain a House majority next year and win what is expected to be North Carolina’s closest congressional race.Butterfield, 74, a former head of the Congressional Black Caucus, has represented several rural counties in northeastern North Carolina since 2004, often winning by comfortable margins. But redistricting by state Republicans places him in a toss-up district with a smaller share of Black voters who were likelier to gravitate to his campaign.The congressional boundaries could still get struck down in court as Democrats and voting rights groups argue that Republicans created racial gerrymanders and drew lines for pure partisan gain. Butterfield told The Associated Press this month that he would run under a “fair map.”“While I am hopeful that the courts will ultimately overturn this partisan map and see that a fair map is enacted, I have made the difficult decision that I will not seek reelection to the United State House of Representatives,” Butterfield said in a video. “It is time for me to retire and allow the torch to be passed to someone who shares the values of the district and can continue the work I have labored so hard for the past 18 years.”
Democrats know a red wave is coming, maybe as big as the one we saw in 2010.
They wouldn’t be running for the exits otherwise.
Featured image via YouTube.
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