A veteran Democratic member of the House of Representatives is among the many lawmakers opting out of seeking re-election this November. Representative Annie Kuster (D-NH) recently revealed her decision to step down from Congress at the conclusion of her current term. Over 40 of her fellow legislators have also chosen not to run again, with a majority of them belonging to the Democratic Party.
Kuster, who has served as the representative for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional district, issued a statement on March 27 declaring the conclusion of her tenure in the House. As a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a centrist faction striving for bipartisan legislative efforts, Kuster acknowledged in her statement the mix of fulfillment, obstacles, motivation, and difficulty she has encountered during her time in Congress.
She then emphasized her earlier indication that she did not intend to remain in Congress indefinitely and confirmed her decision not to seek re-election. Instead, she plans to depart from the House in January of the following year. In the interim, she has committed to continuing her efforts on bipartisan initiatives.
Thus far, a total of eight senators and 42 members of the House of Representatives have announced their decision not to seek re-election in November. While this number may not be considered particularly unusual, it is worth noting that 24 out of the 42 representatives are Democrats, despite the House being nearly evenly divided between the two major parties. It’s important to highlight that not all of the departing Democrats are retiring from politics; half of them are pursuing other elected positions.
Nevertheless, this still leaves a significant number, specifically 12, who are opting to exit from government service altogether. Additionally, among the senators choosing not to run again, five out of the eight are Democrats, with only two being Republicans.
In 2010, Kuster initially contested a congressional seat but narrowly lost to the Republican contender, Charles Bass. However, in the subsequent election two years later, she emerged victorious against him. Since then, her electoral performance has consistently ranged from 49% to 55% of the vote in each election cycle. Despite being categorized as “likely Democrat” in light of the Biden Administration’s challenges in public opinion polls, her district is not strongly Democratic. Consequently, a vigorous Republican campaign has the potential to overturn the district’s political landscape in the upcoming November elections.
