California Republican Issa won’t seek re-election
WASHINGTON — Congressman Darrell Issa will not run for re-election this year, the second California Republican to announce his retirement this week. Fellow veteran Southern California Rep. Ed Royce revealed Monday he, too, will leave Congress after 2018.
But Issa might still be on the ballot in 2018. A spokesman suggested he could run for statewide office in California. “He’s not ruling out anything and looks forward to staying engaged in politics as he moves into this new chapter,” Calvin Moore said in an email.
The departures buoy Democrats’ hopes of winning control of the House of Representatives from Republicans in November, a feat that by most accounts will require flipping several California seats.
In a statement, Issa said that “with the support of my family, I have decided that I will not seek re-election in California’s 49th District.”
“I will continue advocating on behalf of the causes that are most important to me, advancing public policy where I believe I can make a true and lasting difference.”
Issa’s 2016 opponent, retired Marine Col. Doug Applegate is running again in 2018, as are several other competitive Democratic candidates. The 49th Congressional District, which stretches along the coast from San Clemente in Orange County to Del Mar just north of
San Diego, has seen its Republican majority disappear in recent years. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won the district by 7 percentage points in 2016.