Us: Can you blame them?
It’s still August of the off-year and there have already been an alarming number of Republican retirements: 13, including 3 in the competitive House battlefield. But can you really blame them? It’s tough to rationalize sticking around for the opportunity to run on a deeply unpopular health care repeal agenda, with an historically unpopular President at the top of the ticket, and the promise (if you even win re-election in a district you’re being forced to run a tough race in for the first time) of serving another two years in the minority.
“In the first 8 months of this year, 2 House Republicans have resigned while another 11 have announced they won’t run for re-election. And this includes Will Hurd, the only African-American Republican in the House of Representatives. Tally it all up, and that’s 93 House Republicans out of 241. More than 38% turnover in a party that had unified control over Washington until late last year. And beneath the surface there’s deep discomfort with the direction of the party under President Trump as it turns into what looks like a demographic dead-end…”