| Darrell Issa abandoning CA-48 with his last-minute retirement Friday night is the clearest sign yet Republicans know they’re doomed by a disastrous agenda of raising costs, attacking health care, and wrecking the economy to benefit wealthy special interests.
Earlier that day, Issa was ranked as one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the entire country, and that vulnerability remains for any MAGA puppet who will run in CA-48 on the same toxic record.
Here’s What They Are Saying:Â
- POLITICO: Issa, a polarizing fixture of Southern California politics for more than two decades and an ally of President Donald Trump, announced he will retire at the end of his term – a decision that could help Democrats win his district in the midterms. […]
- Issa’s unexpected decision is an about-face from less than three months ago, when the veteran lawmaker declared “I’m not quitting on California” after briefly considering running for a Texas congressional seat instead.
- Washington Post: Issa’s retirement from Congress reflects the challenges Republicans face in the coming midterm elections, which Democrats are showing signs of leading as they attempt to retake the U.S. House. […]
- LA Times: Darrell Issa…has called it quits. Northern California Rep. Kevin Kiley has shed his GOP label to run as a political independent. And two Republican congressional incumbents find themselves in a political death match in a newly crafted district straddling Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
- LA Times: Democrats were quick to celebrate the party’s prospects of winning the seat and increasing its ranks in California’s congressional delegation.
- “After over two decades of disastrous representation, Darrell Issa is once again running for the exits — and good riddance,” said Anna Elsasser, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Issa abandoning his voters now is the clearest sign yet that Republicans know he can’t win on his record of skyrocketing prices, gutting healthcare, and looking out for himself and wealthy special interests above all else.” […]
- Issa’s once solidly Republican district had been trending more moderate in recent years. Democratic registered voters outnumber Republicans by more than four percentage points in Issa’s new district.Â
DCCC Spokesperson Anna Elsasser:
“California Republicans are running for the hills and having identity crises – and Democrats are ready to take back the House. Let this be a warning to the cheap stand-ins looking to fill Darrell Issa’s self-serving shoes.” |
