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Rep. Darrell Issa Says He's Out: GOP Retirement Wave Turning into a Tsunami? 

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Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., announced Wednesday morning he will not seek reelection this year. 

The news brings the total number of House Republicans dropping out to 31, according to a National Public Radio tally. Nineteen of the 31 are retiring outright and 12 are running for higher office.

As Roll Call noted, the House has averaged 22 members retiring each election cycle since 1976. This year is already historic and tops 1994, the last time a party had close to that many members retiring. In 1994, 28 Democrats left and the GOP then took back control of Congress. This year, Democrats need to flip 24 seats over to their control to regain the House majority and many analysts expect more retirement announcements to come.

Many believed Issa would have faced a tough reelection fight this year in a Southern California district that's become increasingly Democratic.  

Issa is the former chairman of the Committee on House Oversight and Government Reform and well-known for aggressively investigating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her role in the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi.

Issa issued a statement Wednesday announcing his plans to not seek reelection.  

"I am forever grateful to the people of San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties for their support and affording me the honor of serving them all these years," he said, "most humbling for me – and for anyone who represents this area – has been the special privilege of representing the marines and sailors of Camp Pendleton and their families. On countless occasions and in every corner of the world I met them, I was inspired by their bravery and humbled by their sacrifice," he said.

 


 

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About The Author

Heather
Sells

Heather Sells covers wide-ranging stories for CBN News that include religious liberty, ministry trends, immigration, and education. She’s known for telling personal stories that capture the issues of the day, from the border sheriff who rescues migrants in the desert to the parents struggling with a child that identifies as transgender. In the last year, she has reported on immigration at the Texas border, from Washington, D.C., in advance of the Dobbs abortion case, at crisis pregnancy centers in Massachusetts, and on sexual abuse reform at the annual Southern Baptist meeting in Anaheim