House Democrats already faced several challenges in trying to hold the majority in 2022. Now, a rash of departures is complicating the problem further.
Rep. Charlie Crist of Florida on Tuesday is set to announce a run for governor, a job he held as a Republican and then independent from 2007 to 2011. And on Friday, Rep. Cheri Bustos, who headed House Democrats’ campaign arm in 2020, when the party unexpectedly lost seats, announced her retirement. In Ohio, Rep. Tim Ryan is running for Senate.
In all three cases, the departing lawmakers faced the prospect of running for reelection in districts drawn unfavorably to them. Republicans control the redistricting process in Florida and Ohio. And Illinois is losing a House seat, so the shape of Bustos’s current district, won narrowly by former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, is unknown.
House Democrats are already at a disadvantage for the 2022 midterm elections, near two years into President Joe Biden’s administration. Over the past century, the president’s party has only picked up seats three times. And with Republicans needing to net five seats in the 435-member House, Democrats have the narrowest majority for either party since the 1930s.
With such a narrow margin, each departure has an outsize effect. Though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, will get some breathing room when Rep.-elect Troy Carter of Louisiana takes office next week. An open seat in New Mexico will be filled on June 1 in a special election strongly favoring Democrats, widening the party’s narrow margin a bit further.
GOP LOOKS FOR CLEAN SWEEP OF IOWA’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
Bustos’s announcement came just over a month after Rep. Filemon Vela, a Texas Democrat, whose district sits on the U.S.-Mexico border, and Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, both announced they would not be running for reelection.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb is eyeing a Senate bid. So are his fellow Democratic House members from Pennsylvania, Chrissy Houlahan and Susan Wild, though nobody has committed yet. And Rep. Cindy Axne of Iowa is reportedly considering runs for either U.S. Senate or governor.
“Who can blame them? [The] Democrats’ campaign arm blew their best chance to pad their slim House majority this weekend when they got shut out of the runoff in TX-06, a district targeted by the DCCC last cycle that President Trump carried by 3 points,” National Congressional Committee Deputy Communications Director Mike Berg said in a statement.
A handful of House Republicans are also not seeking reelection either. Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York launched a run for governor, while Rep. Jody Hice is running for Georgia secretary of state and Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama is running for Senate.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas announced his retirement last week, and Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio will resign his seat later this month to lead his state’s Chamber of Commerce. Rep. Tom Reed of New York, who likely planned to run again initially but whose political career in Washington faltered following a sexual harassment accusation, announced he would not seek reelection.
