Veteran Rep. Darrell Issa decides not to seek reelection in new Democratic-leaning district
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Veteran Republican Rep.Darrell Issa announced Friday that he will not run for reelection in his newly configured congressional district in San Diego and Riverside counties.“This decision has been on my mind for a while and I didn’t make it lightly,” Issa said in a statement, arguing that he would have won the 2026 race based on his campaign’s polling and his support from President Trump among others.
“But after a quarter-century in Congress — and before that, a quarter-century in business — it’s the right time for a new chapter and new challenges.”Issa called serving in Congress “the honor of my life,” and highlighted his work for constituents such as 100-year-old retired Navy fighter pilot Royce Williams, who was awarded a congressional medal of honor during Trump’s State of the Union address.“...
every day my teams in Washington and California have worked to deliver for our constituents,” Issa said.Issa, among the wealthiest members of Congress, began telling people earlier this week that he would retire from Congress, sources said.Politics Editor’s note: This article was originally written and published in 1998.
He had an outsized impact on state and national politics, according to political experts and strategists, including funding the successful 2003 recall of Gov.Gray Davis, which ushered Arnold Schwarzenegger into office, and his work as the head of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee during high-profile investigations of the Obama administration.“Darrell Issa was a constant and consequential presence in the Republican Party in California without ever being its most prominent leader,” said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego.
“He’s the person probably most responsible for the recall of Gray Davis going forward, but then he got boxed out of the race when Arnold Schwarzenegger got in....