Staff Reports
In a shocking turn of events, two more House lawmakers have thrown in the towel and announced they won’t be seeking reelection to the lower chamber next year. Reps. Wiley Nickel (D-NC) and Drew Ferguson (R-GA) both dropped this bombshell on Thursday, adding to the laundry list of members who claim they’re hanging up their political hats in 2024.
Calling it quits: Two more House members head for the exits in latest departure wavehttps://t.co/tVOa8sdpRu https://t.co/tVOa8sdpRu
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 14, 2023
While Ferguson’s district is expected to remain as red as a ripe tomato, Nickel’s retreat offers a golden opportunity for Republicans to snatch up a seat and add to their slim majority in the House.
Nickel, a Democrat, has decided to sit this one out, citing the state’s approval of new congressional maps that basically hand his district over to the Republicans. This makes Nickel the third Democrat from North Carolina to say “Thanks, but no thanks” to reelection, gifting those sneaky Republicans a handful of chances to beef up their House majority.
Ferguson, on the other hand, has played the “personal reasons” card, simply stating that “Georgia is calling [him] home.” Ah, the sweet siren song of Georgia, beckoning him back to spend time with the kiddos and grandkids.
And if you thought these two retirements were a rare occurrence, think again! More than 30 House incumbents have already declared they won’t be back for another go-round next year, setting a record pace for retirements this early into an election cycle. The majority of those waving goodbye to reelection are Democrats.
Of the open seats, only a pitiful seven are considered competitive, and wouldn’t you know it, they’re all held by Democrats. The Democrats are holding onto those seats for dear life, fingers white-knuckled as they desperately try to cling on.
With these two new retirements in the books, it looks like 2024 is shaping up to be one for the record books. If it keeps up at this rate, it could rival the retirement frenzy of 2018, when a whopping 52 House members said “Adios” to reelection.
