What do you call two Republican retirements in one day?
No, really. We’re still thinking of a catchy name ourselves but no matter what you call it, the cascade of Republicans fleeing Congress in 2019 is already a huge headache for Washington Republicans.
On Tuesday morning, Congressman Bill Flores (TX-17) became the fifth Texas Republican to hang it up in the last six weeks. By sundown, Washington Republicans had lost another member: Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-05).
A reminder: Republicans in safe seats don’t usually retire if they think their party is going to win back the majority.
Yes, some of these retirements are in safe districts, but many of them aren’t. Take NRCC Recruitment Chair, Susan Brooks, as an example, or Congressman Will Hurd, who barely held on to a district that backed Hillary Clinton in 2016. And as conservative commentator Noah Rothman noted on Tuesday, “Retirements told the story of the 2018 midterms well before the polls.”
He’s right. In 2018, Washington Republicans fled D.C. in record numbers, choosing to retire on their own terms rather than lose their seats or suffer the misery of the minority.
Now, after losing 40 seats and control of the U.S. House last year, Washington Republicans are twiddling their thumbs in the minority while being forced to defend their unpopular agenda that would strip away health care from millions of Americans every day.
Maybe that’s why Republicans are retiring at a faster clip in 2019 than anything seen this time last cycle.
“Apparently, Washington Republicans didn’t learn their lesson in 2018 and they’re determined to repeat history by pursuing reckless policies to strip away health care from millions of American families,” DCCC Spokesperson Cole Leiter said. “It’s clear the continued drain of having to defend their toxic, unpopular agenda and the misery of serving in the minority is what’s driving Washington Republicans to head for the exits in record numbers.”
###