Two more House Democrats have announced plans to retire from Congress at the end of their terms. On Monday, Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle and North Carolina Rep. David Price both announced they wouldn’t be seeking re-election.
The Washington Examiner reports:
Doyle is the longest-serving member of Pennsylvania’s current congressional delegation, having first been elected to Congress in 1994, and was also a longtime coach for the Democrats in their annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity.
“I believe the time has come to pass the torch to the next generation,” Doyle said in a press conference, adding that he believed he could be reelected in 2022 if he ran again. He said the coronavirus pandemic made him and his wife accelerate their retirement plans.
Price is also the longest-serving current North Carolina House member, having first been elected to the Chapel Hill-area district in 1986, losing the seat in 1994, and then winning back the seat in a 1996 rematch election.
“Most of what we do remains a work in progress,” Price said in a statement . “That is certainly evident now, as we strive to secure long overdue investments in our transportation and housing infrastructure, child care and early childhood education, and other pressing needs. Looming over it all is the frightful legacy of the last four years and urgent questions about the future of our constitutional democracy.”
The twin retirements is big news as concern about Republicans taking back the House in 2022 continues to grow. However, both representatives come from Democrat-leaning districts so the retirements don’t necessarily translate to expected GOP victories.