As the party tries to maintain its thin majority, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard has become the newest House Democrat to declare her intention not to run for re-election in 2022.
She stated the moment has arrived for her to spend more time with her family. According to the Associated Press, her district appears to be on the verge of being eliminated.
Her department did not react promptly to an after-hours inquiry from Fox News.
California is dropping a congressional seat for the first time since other states are growing much faster, sliding to 52 seats from 53 seats, despite having the largest House representation.
Thinning Numbers
23 House Democrats will not be running for reelection in 2022.
"People are going to vote them out. So they might as well leave before they get voted out," said @RepMeuser (R-PA) on Tuesday's "National Report." pic.twitter.com/lNOhtb9FqD
— Newsmax (@newsmax) December 21, 2021
According to The Hill, 23 Democrats stated they would not seek re-election, opposed to 13 Republicans. Republicans presently possess 213 House seats, while Democrats hold 221 seats.
CNN reported on Monday the Democrat caucus believes additional departures are imminent. According to Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser, Republicans held a majority for eight years before relinquishing the majority in 2018, during Trump’s administration.
Although Republicans did not retake leadership of the House in 2020, they performed better than predicted and reduced the Democrats’ majority.
Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Florida Democrat and member of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack, says she won't seek reelectionhttps://t.co/BpzEsR5L0d
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 20, 2021
Democrat Rep. Stephanie Murphy said last week that she, too, will retire at the end of her current term and not run for re-election. She noted her time in Congress was the greatest honor of her life, but it has also been extremely difficult for her family and herself.
According to the Associated Press, the shifting borders in California may have influenced the choice of other members of Congress to resign, notably Reps. Devin Nunes and Alan Lowenthal.
DeFazio’s Retirement
Peter DeFazio, who will retire after 36 years in the House, is the 19th Democrat member to either retire or run for a new post in the 2022 midterms.
13 House Republicans are leaving or running for another position in the coming year.
He announced his intention not to run for re-election next year with modesty and thanks in a release late last month.
When DeFazio was first elected to office in 1986, he was a local politician. He took over for fellow Democrat Rep. Jim Weaver, for whom DeFazio served as a legislative staffer.
Right now, his blue-leaning district is likely to become more advantageous to Republicans next year, due to the party’s new redistricting model, which was approved by the state legislature.
Republicans were targeting DeFazio ahead of the 2022 midterm elections when the GOP requires a net benefit of just five members in the 435-member body to reclaim the majority it lost in 2018.
DeFazio is on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s list of possibly susceptible Democrats, as well as a second “exit list” of Democrats.
According to a statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi commended DeFazio as an incredible force for development, whose 36 years of outstanding service in the House left a legacy that will help Congress and the nation for decades to come.
