Republican who barely won tough re-election won't bother trying again
Rep. Rob Woodall eked out a roughly 400-vote win in 2018. Now, he’ll retire in 2020 rather than face another tough election.
Retirement season has begun.
A House Republican from a competitive district in Georgia, who barely won re-election in 2018, announced he’s retiring from Congress, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on Thursday.
Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA) won the closest House race in the country in 2018, defeating Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux by roughly 400 votes last year in Georgia’s 7th District.
Republicans were pressuring Woodall to step aside rather than run for re-election, given his razor-thin victory, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
But even without Woodall on the ballot, Democrats will target this district, located in suburban Atlanta, for a pickup.
It’s the kind of rapidly changing suburban seat that is turning away from Trump and his racist agenda and shifting toward Democrats.
For example, Mitt Romney carried this district by a 22-point margin in 2012. Yet Trump only carried it by a 6-point spread four years later, a major swing toward Democrats.
Woodall is not the first House Republican to announce they are fleeing instead of running for re-election in 2020.
GOP Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania already quit his job in Congress days after Democrats retook the House majority, which Democrats say was a sign he couldn’t bear to be in the House minority.
And neither Woodall or Marino will be the last Republican lawmakers to flee.
All eyes will now be on other vulnerable suburban Republicans.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
Recommended
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reprimanded for harassing and disparaging witnesses
The Georgia Republican questioned whether a stepmother is a real parent and called a Cabinet secretary a liar during committee hearings.
By Emily Singer - April 27, 2023
GOP representative trivializes Holocaust after DirecTV drops Newsmax
First-term Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) likened a private company replacing Newsmax with another right-wing network to the extermination of millions of Jews and others.
By Josh Israel - February 01, 2023
A decade after Sandy Hook, grief remains but hope grows
December, the anniversary of the worst grade school mass shooting in the U.S. is a difficult month for many in Newton. But in the face of heartbreak and grief, some survivors and families of victims feel hope for a brighter future.
By Associated Press - December 22, 2022
