Three House Democrats have announced their plans to retire over the last week.
Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., co-chair of the centrist House Blue Dog Coalition, announced that she would not run for reelection to a fourth term in the House, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family instead.
Murphy, 43, said in a video posted to her Twitter account that ''these last few years have been some of the most rewarding moments of my life, but also some of the most challenging. Public service is not without personal sacrifice, and as a mom of two young children, my time away from them has been hard. For them. For me. And for our family.
''I know this may come as a shock to many of you, for someone to quote unquote 'retire' at my age from Congress — without scandal, without immediately seeking higher office, without fear of losing reelection, or without some lucrative job opportunity.
''I recognize this is a very rare thing to do in Congress, but I still strongly believe in a citizen Congress, where ordinary citizens run for office in search of duty and service, not in search of a career. And I never intended my time in Congress to become a career,'' Murphy continued.
In addition, Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J., is expected to formally announce his plans to retire before the end of the year, and Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., announced his retirement late last week.
The New Jersey congressman is 70 years old; Lowenthal is 80.
With just under a year before the 2022 midterm elections, the number of House Democrats who plan to retire stands at 21.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.