Another Retirement: Now 29 Dems Not Seek Reelection to House in 2022

Yet another House Democrat has announced retirement rather than face the wrath of voters angered over President Biden’s awful handling of the country. Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee’s 4th congressional district will be stepping aside and not seeking reelection in November after 32 years in Congress.

Cooper was done in by redistricting which changed his Nashville-area seat making it a hard battle this year compared to previous years:

Cooper, the dean of Tennessee’s congressional delegation and a member of the Democrats’ Blue Dog Coalition of moderate representatives, has served in Congress since 1983. He becomes the 29th House Democrat this cycle to announce they’ll retire or seek a different office in this year’s elections. Fourteen House Republicans are either retiring or running for a different office.

“Today I am announcing that I will not run for re-election to Congress. After 32 years in office, I will be leaving Congress next year,” Cooper wrote on Twitter. “I cannot thank the people of Nashville enough. You backed me more than almost anyone in Tennessee history.”

Cooper’s announcement comes after the GOP-dominated Tennessee legislature voted to severely alter his Nashville-based district, taking a blue-leaning seat and dividing it among three districts, The congressman cited redistricting as a key reason for his decision.

Redistricting is the easy copout, of course, since it blames Republicans in charge of Tennessee for basically pushing him out. The real cause, however, is far more likely to be blamed on the terrible national environment for Democrats right now.

Cooper, coming from a solidly red state, would have a much more difficult time than he’s been used to despite the Democrat-leaning district he hails from. He’s also fairly moderate compared to his peers, and sitting in the House minority next year along with members of the bratty progressive squad probably doesn’t sound like much fun.

As it stands, add Cooper as number 29 to the retirement list:

List of House Democrats Retiring in 2022

Here’s the current list of House Democrats not running for reelection in 2022. Some of them are retiring, and others are changing course and choosing to run for another office:

1. Ann Kirkpatrick AZ-02 (Retiring)
2. Jackie Speier CA-14 )Retiring)
3. Karen Bass CA-37 (Running for mayor)
4. Lucille Roybal-Allard CA-40 (Retiring)
5. Alan Lowenthal CA-47 (Retiring)
6. Stephanie Murphy FL-07 (Retiring)
7. Val Demings FL-10 (Running for Senate)
8. Charlie Crist FL-13 (Running for governor)
9. Bobby Rush IL-01 (Retiring)
10. Cheri Bustos IL-17 (Retiring)
11. John Yarmuth KY-03 (Retiring)
12. Anthony Brown MD-04 (Running for attorney general)
13. Brenda Lawrence MI-14 (Retiring)
14. G.K. Butterfield NC-01 (Retiring)
15. David Price NC-04 (Retiring)
16. Albio Sires NJ-08 (Retiring)
17. Tom Suozzi NY-03 (Running for governor)
18. Tim Ryan OH-13 (Running for Senate)
19. Peter DeFazio OR-04 (Retiring)
20. Conor Lamb PA-17 (Running for Senate)
21. Mike Doyle PA-18 (Retiring)
22. Eddie Bernice Johnson TX-30 (Retiring)
23. Filemon Vela TX-34 (Retiring)
24. Peter Welch VT-AL (Running for Senate)
25. Ron Kind WI-03 (Retiring)
26. Ed Perlmutter CO-07 (Retiring)
27. Jim Langevin RI-02 (Retiring)
28. Jerry McNerney CA-09 (Retiring)
29. Jim Cooper TN-04 (Retiring)

It’s expected there could still be more retirements into February, likely pushing the total of House Dem retirements into the thirties or higher.