Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has just lost another longtime House Democrat, further weakening the party’s chances of holding their majority after the midterms.
The Democrats have a razor-thin majority in the House and losing incumbents is a bad sign for looming elections.
Pelosi has already lost 23 incumbents to retirement or other reasons, and now with one more going, it seems unlikely she’ll hold onto her powerful position after the midterms.
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) the former Black Panther and ex-Chicago alderman said he will not seek another term.
He has served in the House for 15 terms.
“I don’t want my grandchildren to know me from a television news clip or something they read in a newspaper,” Rush said.
“I want them to know me on an intimate level, know something about me, and I want to know something about them.
“I don’t want to be a historical figure to my grandchildren.”
Rush dealt Barack Obama his only election defeat in March 2000.
Part is that history is that Rush beat State Senator @BarackObama by 30 points in a congressional primary in the 2000. Obama wondered if his career was over. Eight years later, he was elected President of the United States. https://t.co/jBhOflOvz7
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) January 4, 2022
From The Chicago Sun-Times:
Rush has transformed himself through the years. An ordained minister, Rush is the pastor of the Beloved Community Christian Church of God in Christ, earning a master’s degree in theology in 1998 from the McCormick Theological Seminary.
The new congressional map continues to anchor the 1st District on the South Side as it sweeps in suburban, rural and small-town turf as far south as Bourbonnais and west to Wilmington.
Though Rush is the 24th Democrat in the House to announce a retirement, his departure will not play a role in whether Democrats retain at least the three- or four-seat margin they have to control the House.
Rush’s district is so heavily Democratic, the June primary winner is all but certain to clinch the seat in November.
Rush’s retirement opens the seat for the first time in 30 years, and a large field of contenders is expected, especially since candidates do not have to live in the district they want to represent.
Bobby Rush is the 24th Democrat to announce he is not seeking reelection
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 3, 2022
