BREAKING Second-highest-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee not seeking reelection

Rep. Susan Davis is latest Democrat not seeking reelection

By Chandelis Duster and Haley Byrd, CNN
Updated 8:55 PM ET, Wed September 4, 2019


Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., speaks during a House Democrats news conference in the Capitol on Tuesday, July 24, 2018.


Washington (CNN)Rep. Susan Davis of California, the second-highest-ranking Democrat on the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, will not seek reelection in 2020, she announced on Wednesday.

Davis will retire at the end of her current term after representing California's 53rd District since 2001. She said her decision was "very difficult" and "represents a desire to live and work 'at home' in San Diego."

"This is tough for me. There are always compelling issues and challenges that have encouraged me to pursue each new election cycle," she said in a letter to her constituents. "Most touching has been the appeals to stay on and go yet another round with the hope that I would always be your representative. It doesn't get any better than that!"

Davis said she does not know what she will do next, but knows "there are many ways to serve our community."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow California Democrat, said Davis is a "significant leader of our country" and praised her involvement in Congress.

"She is a Chairwoman who deeply understands that America's strength is measured not only in military might, but also in the health, education and well-being of the American people," Pelosi said in a statement. "Her patriotic, persistent leadership on the Committee on House Administration to ensure clean, fair elections has helped protect the sacred right of all Americans to have their voices heard at the ballot box and in our democracy."

Davis is the latest Democratic lawmaker to announce plans to leave Congress. Rep. Jose Serrano of New York announced in March that he has Parkinson's disease and will not seek reelection. Rep. Dave Loebsack of Iowa had announced in April that he wouldn't run again.

Also on Wednesday, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican who is the second-most-senior member of the House, announced that he will retire in January 2021, becoming at least the 13th GOP lawmaker to announce their departure. Republican Rep. Bill Flores of Texas also announced on Wednesday that he would not run for reelection.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/04/polit...ion/index.html