GOP Retirements played a big part in Democrats winning back the House – and the GOP Retirements have already started this cycle!
Just a month and a half into Democratic control of the US House of Representatives and already the first vulnerable Republican, Rep. Rob Woodall, has seen the writing on the wall and thrown in the towel.
Who can blame him? Life in the minority with no end in sight is no fun and for many Republican incumbents, it just won’t be worth the hassle to try and hang on in 2020. With the first major early retirement out of the way, the big question for Republicans is: who’s next?
We have some thoughts, which is why the DCCC is announcing its much anticipated “2020 Retirement Watch List.” And this year, the Watch List is backed by Twitter ads, geo-targeted to the Congressional District of each Member.
“It’s tough to be a Republican in Washington right now as most of our offensive targets are experiencing life in the minority for the very first time,” said Jared Smith, Communications Director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Whether it’s waking up each morning to read the President’s tweets that they’ll be answering for or slowly coming to the realization that they aren’t in control any more, we expect to see a steady stream of frustrated Washington Republicans heading for the exits. Retirements played a major role as Democrats won back the House last year and, in 2020, we expect Republican retirements to aid our effort to expand the Democratic House Majority.”
In case you were wondering, only 6 of the 2018 cycle’s 16 Member Retirement Watch List are still in Congress. The other 10 retired on their own, or were retired by their voters.
Below is the full 2020 Republican Retirement Watch List:
AK-AL Don Young
AZ-06 David Schweikert
CA-50 Duncan Hunter
FL-15 Ross Spano
FL-16 Vern Buchanan
GA-07 Rob Woodall – (RETIRED)
IN-05 Susan Brooks – (RETIRED)
MI-06 Fred Upton
MO-02 Ann Wagner
NJ-04 Chris Smith
NY-02 Peter King – (RETIRED)
NY-24 John Katko
NY-27 Chris Collins – (RESIGNED)
OH-01 Steve Chabot
TX-10 Mike McCaul
TX-22 Pete Olson – (RETIRED)
TX-24 Kenny Marchant – (RETIRED)
TX-31 John Carter
WA-03 Jaime Herrera Beutler
New Retirement Watch List Members added August 2, 2019:
IL-13 Rodney Davis
IL-16 Adam Kinzinger
NY-01 Lee Zeldin
PA-01 Brian Fitzpatrick
###