US House’s political balance in question as Democrats announce retirement

United States House of Representatives, which is currently thinly divided between the Democratic and Republican parties may witness a flipped political balance as the mid-terms near. The lack of proportion may tip in favour of the GOP as multiple Democrats have already announced plans of leaving their offices. 

The lower legislative house is currently dominated by Democratic lawmakers, with the party tally being 221-213.

So far, nearly a dozen House Democrats have already announced their intention to either run for a different office or not contesting the midterm elections at all, according to reports from NBC News.

The pullout from the elections started as early as October 2021, when prominent legislators announced their retirement. These included David Price (North Carolina) and Mike Doyle (Pennsylvania), both members of the Democratic caucus. Their retirement landed the first major blow to the Democrats’ political capital in Washington DC.

Other notable retirements from the Democratic party include Wisconsin’s Ron Kind, Arizona’s Ann Kirkpatrick, Illinois’ Cheri Bustos and Kentucky’s John Yarmuth. 

Yarmuth, who is also the chairperson of the House Budget Committee said wants “to have more control” over his time highlighting that he will be 75 years old by the time his term ends.

The Communications Director of the National Republican Congressional Committee said in a statement, “Every Democrat retirement expands the Republican battlefield and demoralizes House Democrats even further”, according to reports from NBC News.

The news comes days after the Republican politicians seemed to dominate the elections — mayoral and gubernatorial– and secured multiple wins across the country. 

GOP’s Glenn Youngkin maintained a stronghold in Virginia elections for the Governor’s office and beat Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe, who has formerly held the position in the commonwealth.

The redistricting process that is underway in all 50 states is likely to motivate even more lawmakers to call it quits instead of running for re-election.