Darrell Issa, a California Republican, Will Not Seek Re-election to House

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January 10, 2018 7:41 PM

WASHINGTON — Rep. Darrell Issa, whose hard-edge partisan attacks on President Barack Obama began softening as his district trended toward the Democrats, said on Wednesday that he would not seek re-election — the latest and one of the most prominent Republican retirements in the face of a potential Democratic wave.

Issa, who has represented an idyllic stretch of Southern California coast since 2001, won re-election in 2016 by just 1,600 votes out or more than 300,000 cast, while Hillary Clinton carried it by more than seven percentage points.

Issa had indicated that he was preparing to defend the seat, despite agreement by outside analysts and campaign operatives in both parties that it would have been one of the most competitive races in the country.

But on Wednesday, he called it quits.

“Throughout my service, I worked hard and never lost sight of the people our government is supposed to serve,” Issa said on Wednesday. “Yet with the support of my family, I have decided that I will not seek re-election in California’s 49th District.”

A field of four Democrats had been competing to take on Issa, including Doug Applegate, a retired Marine colonel who served in Iraq and almost defeated him in 2016; a former Obama administration official; and a real estate investor.

Issa had roughly $850,000 in his campaign coffers at the end of September, according to the most recent public filing available.

But his hard-edge partisanship had begun to wear on a district that is affluent and increasingly moderate. As chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Issa routinely ripped into Obama, his aides and Cabinet.

Without Issa on the ballot, Democrats boasted on Wednesday that they were well positioned to turn the seat blue.

“After passing a devastating tax scam and fighting to rip away health care from millions of families, California Republicans clearly see the writing on the wall and realize that their party and its priorities are toxic to their re-election chances in 2018,” said Drew Godinich, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The New York Times

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