Two more House members announced they won’t seek reelection in 2024, adding to the huge list of public servants heading for the Capitol Hill exit.

Reps. Drew Ferguson, a Republican, and Wiley Nickel, a Democrat, will forego reelection.

According to POLITICO, Ferguson will leave a safely GOP seat in Georgia.

Nickel, 48, will not seek reelection in North Carolina due to the newly-drawn congressional districts by state Republican legislators.

POLITICO reports:

In a statement, Ferguson said he and his wife “look forward to spending more time with our children and grandchildren while continuing to work to keep Georgia the best state in America to live and do business” without providing other specifics on his departure. He said Georgia is “calling us home.”

Ferguson served as chief deputy whip for Republicans from 2019 through 2023, and had been mulling a run for a GOP leadership role as recently as October. His attempt to rise to the position of majority whip raised the hackles of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year after Republicans regained control of the chamber.

His district outside of Atlanta is solidly Republican and will likely remain in GOP hands.

Ferguson wasn’t the only one. First-term Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) also announced he would not seek reelection after North Carolina Republicans redrew his district.

“Republicans have rigged the system to favor themselves and I don’t have a path to run for re-election in the 13th district. But I’m not giving up and neither should you,” Nickel said in a statement in which he also expressed interest in a Senate bid in 2026 against incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

The announcements from Ferguson and Nickel continue the trend of lawmakers retiring at a record pace.

“Lawmakers are fleeing Congress at a record clip, with 13 senators and representatives announcing this month they won’t seek re-election — the highest number in more than a decade,” Axios noted in November.

Per Axios:

On the Democratic side, nine House members are leaving to run for the Senate. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) announced over the weekend that he won’t be seeking re-election after he launched a long-shot bid for the presidency.

Age and health concerns are also contributing: The 118th Congress began the year with the oldest Senate in history, and 79% of Americans now support age limits for elected officials.

Seven senators and 31 House members in total have announced they’ll be leaving.

The vacated seats offer Republicans potential pickup opportunities in the House and Senate next year — and could open the door for more partisan lawmakers on both sides.

Apart from Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), all of the House GOP departures are from reliably red districts. Several districts being left by Democrats are competitive.

“Swing-seat Democrats are racing for the exits and making their party’s climb out of the minority even steeper,” Jack Pandol, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Axios.

Just the News added:

At least 40 members of Congress – seven senators and 33 House members – have so far said they will not seek reelection next year. Just in November, 13 senators and House members announced they wouldn’t run – the largest number to do so in a single month in over a decade, according to the website TruthOut.org.

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