The news Friday that Missouri Rep. Sam Graves will not seek reelection brings the number of Republican House members leaving office this year to 36 — far more than the 21 Democrats who are leaving and just eight fewer than the largest exodus from the U.S. House of Representatives in history in 1992.
Graves, 62, came to Washington with George W. Bush in 2000 and rose to become chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Graves was coasting to re-election in Missouri's 6th District and abruptly ended his campaign. This sets the stage for what state GOP Chairman Peter Kinder called a "real free-for-all" in the Republican primary to succeed him.
Local radio talk show host Chris Stigall is almost certain to seek the GOP nomination. A conservative, Stigall told his listeners he was moved to enter the race after President Donald Trump survived two assassination attempts and went on to win the presidency.
"I expect more retirements," political scientist Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute told Newsmax earlier this year. "The House is not a pleasant place right now. If you are interested in governing — something that is not even on the radar screen for most Republicans in the body — there is not a lot to commend it."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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