In case you missed it, today CNN’s John King acknowledged that the DCCC put Rep. Ed Royce on our retirement watch back in September. In light of the tough reelection battle Royce was facing due to strong Democratic challengers and a deeply unpopular Republican agenda, Royce decided against running again in 2018.
Transcript
John King: “Back in September when the DCCC put him on a list of guys they thought were thinking of retiring, they said ‘no way, he is 100% running for reelection’. They say that in September but then you get into October, November, December – you start polling, you start checking out your district, and you start thinking – do I really want to lose?”
Jeff Zeleny: “His holiday gift was a poll that he got, I’m told, over the weekend and in recent days that it was very, very difficult.”