Last week's retirement announcements from two long-serving House Republicans have made Democrats even more optimistic that they can engineer a string of victories in the midterm elections that could give them the majority again.
Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa, two California Republicans, added their names to a growing list of retirements, although there was talk that Issa may run again in a nearby, more Republican-leaning district.
Still, 31 incumbent GOP lawmakers have decided not to run again, and about one-third of them hail from districts that are at least competitive for a takeover by the Democrats. They need to win 25 new seats to overtake the GOP in November.
Issa’s San Diego district and Royce’s Los Angeles and Orange Country district are particularly appealing to Democrats. Voters in both districts chose Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016, and Issa was barely re-elected.
Analysts now rate both districts slightly in favor of a Democratic takeover in November, and some Democrats believe the majority is again in sight after they lost it in 2010.
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01.22.2025