Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Democratic representative for Washington, D.C., in the U.S. House of Representatives, has filed to end her re-election campaign after 18 consecutive terms. The 88-year-old delegate, who began serving in 1991, announced she will retire at the end of this term.
Norton stated that several colleagues have privately expressed concerns about cognitive decline leading up to her decision to suspend her campaign.
“I will retire at the end of this term,” Norton said in a recent statement.
In an earlier post, she remarked: “With fire in my soul and the facts on my side, I’ve raised hell about the injustice of denying 700,000 taxpaying Americans in DC the same rights given to residents of the states for 33 years.”
Norton officially filed paperwork to suspend her campaign on Sunday and released a formal statement Tuesday.
“The privilege of public service is inseparable from the responsibility to recognize when it’s time to lift up the next generation of leaders,” Norton said in that statement. “For D.C., that time has come. With pride in all we have accomplished together, with the deepest gratitude to the people of D.C., and with great confidence in the next generation, I announced today that I will retire at the end of this term.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser praised Norton’s career, which spanned over three decades, calling her “our Warrior on the Hill.”
“From securing shutdown protection for the city and the creation of DCTAG, to defeating continued attacks on Home Rule and leading historic votes in the House for DC Statehood,” Bowser said. “Her work embodies the unwavering resolve of a city that refuses to yield in its fight for equal representation.”
