Another of the GOP representatives who voted to impeach President Trump last year has announced that he will not be seeking a fifth term. John Katko, representing New York’s 24th Congressional District, cited perspective shifts in his personal life as his explanation for abandoning his 2022 run. Katko is the third Republican in the House who has abandoned reelection after having voted to impeach Trump last year, though he did not explicitly mention the subject in his announcement.
Another anti-Trump GOP rep. won’t seek reelection
The former president did not miss the news; Trump released a cheerful statement hailing Katko’s decision as great news, adding “another one bites the dust.”
Katko was on Trump’s list of targets for 2022 and his GOP primary opponents could have expected strong support from the former president and his allies.
The central New York Representative has held his seat since 2014 by voting as one of the most consistently moderate Republicans in the House.
That act is becoming increasingly difficult in 2022. Katko has won reelection repeatedly in a district which should strongly favor Democrats on paper.
With Republicans in the district divided over his candidacy and Democrats free to vote for their own candidate, Katko faced a general election challenge that would have been just as difficult as the primary.
If the GOP representative thought that voting to impeach Trump would turn out to be a positive addition to his record for campaign season, he appears to have been mistaken.
Tough times for moderates
Trump has made it clear that he will be enthusiastically supporting any GOP candidates who challenge Republicans who supported his impeachment in 2021.
The three representatives who have now decided to quit the House after their current terms may have felt that they would be in an impossible spot if they sought reelection.
Katko has been praised by fellow Republicans for holding his seat in a district which naturally favors the Democrats, but in 2022 that sort of thing is starting to be nearly impossible.
Voters of either party now are increasingly unimpressed by a politician who is devoted to bipartisanship, and few representatives have done more to cultivate a moderate reputation than Katko.
With the incumbent bowing out of the race it becomes even more likely that a Democrat will take his place, though that was not an unlikely scenario even with Katko in the race.
New York is losing one seat in the House and the political climate has shifted against people like John Katko. The GOP rep. might feel that leaving on his own terms is better end to his Congressional career than an actual defeat in 2022 would be.