(PatriotWise.com)- Yet another Democratic member of Congress has decided they won’t run for re-election later this year, adding to the already mounting concern liberals have about their ability to retain control of the upper and lower chambers.
On Monday, Illinois Representative Bobby Rush said he would not run for re-election in the 2022 midterms. He has served 15 terms in Congress already.
Rush told local newspaper the Chicago Sun-Times that he made the decision not to run for re-election a few weeks ago, and the impetus behind it was a conversation he had with his grandson.
He explained:
“I don’t want my grandchildren … to know me from a television news clip or something they read in a newspaper. 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.”
Just because he won’t be an active member of Congress anymore doesn’t mean Rush won’t be active in the community. He said he plans to be fully active in his ministry, using the experiences he’s had in his life to try to inspire young people in the community.
Rush is one of the co-founders of the Black Panthers’ Illinois chapter. After Mark Clark and Fred Hampton were killed during a police raid back in December of 1969, Rush became acting chairman of the chapter.
The 75-year-old has spent much of his life fighting against racial injustice and for civil rights. He has been serving on Congress since back in 1993.
Rush defeated a future prominent political figure in the 2000 Democratic primary for Illinois’ 1st Congressional District. After serving as an alderman in the city of Chicago, Rush took down incumbent Senator Barack Obama to win the Democratic primary for his seat.
Rush is now the 24th Democrat in the House who has announced they will not seek re-election in this year’s midterm elections. Democrats have their backs against the wall, so to speak, as they look to retain control of the lower chamber.
Right now, Republicans only need to flip five seats to their side to regain the House majority.
On the other side, there are only 13 Republicans in the House that have announced they wouldn’t seek re-election.
Some prominent Democrats who aren’t seeking re-election are Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, Filemon Vela of Texas, Cheri Bustos of Illinois, Tim Ryan of Ohio, Charlie Crist of Florida, Val Demings of Florida, Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania, Ron Kind of Wisconsin, Karen Bass of California, John Yarmuth of Kentucky and David Price of North Carolina.
Some of the Democrats who aren’t seeking re-election are retiring, while some are running for different political offices.
This mass exodus from the House puts in serious jeopardy liberals’ attempts to retain the majority. Their prospects were already on shaky ground, considering the lackluster performance of Democrats in Washington in this year alone.
Now, liberals will have to contend with new faces trying to win back seats that Democrats currently occupy.
