Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., a 14-term congressman and former chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said he is retiring, becoming the 20th House Republican to announce that he will not seek reelection next year.
In a statement, King, 75, said he made the decision after “much discussion” with his wife and children.
“The prime reason for my decision was that after 28 years of spending 4 days a week in Washington, D.C., it is time to end the weekly commute and be home in Seaford,” King said in a statement. “This was not an easy decision.”
King represents a South Shore Long Island district that includes parts of Nassau County and Suffolk County. He won reelection in 2018 with 53 percent of the vote over Democrat Liuba Grechen Shirley.
“Politically I will miss the energy and dynamism of a re-election campaign especially since my polling numbers are as strong as they have ever been and I have more than $1 million in campaign funds,” King said in his statement.
King joins a growing number of Republican members of Congress who have announced retirements, resigned or said they will seek another office next year.
Prior to his announcement, 19 House Republicans had said they would not seek reelection, according to a tally by the House Press Gallery. By comparison, eight Democrats have announced they will not seek reelection.
(c) 2019, The Washington Post · John Wagner
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