Republican exodus continues as another prominent GOP congressman retires

The Republican exodus from the U.S. House of Representatives is continuing, with longtime Congressman Vern Buchanan of Florida announcing he will be retiring. Twenty-nine House Republicans have now exited or announced their intention to leave their positions this term already. Buchanan, who serves as the Vice Chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, was first elected in 2006.

Some of the other prominent Republicans leaving the House include U.S. Reps. Chip Roy (TX), Andy Biggs (AZ), Byron Donalds (FL), Nancy Mace (SC), and Elise Stefanik (NY).

On Monday, Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman reported: “Today, we only see 18 out of 435 races as toss-ups, but Republicans would need to win two-thirds of the toss-up column to hold their House majority.”

He suggested that Democrats are “modest favorites” to regain the House majority.

Speaker Mike Johnson’s margin over House Democrats is so thin that he directed Republican lawmakers to “take vitamins” earlier this month.

Last month, political pundits and anonymous Republican lawmakers began predicting that a large GOP exodus from the House of Representatives would come after the winter break, when lawmakers had time to spend with their families to make decisions.

Reporting that “frustrated G.O.P. members are running for the exits before things get worse,” Puck News in December suggested that up to 20 House Republicans could be announcing their retirements soon.

Opposition researcher Tyson Brody, responding to the Buchanan announcement, predicted that more GOP resignations were coming: “the ‘i’m too old to go back into the minority’ retirements are only going to pick up from here.”

Aaron Fritschner, Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), offered more insight.

Noting that Buchanan could ultimately have been chairman of the Ways and Means Committee had he stayed longer, Fritschner added that in his opinion, this “looks like a true ‘we are screwed’ retirement ala 2018,” when Democrats flipped over 40 House Republican seats in a “blue wave.”