Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) announced “he will not seek reelection, making him the latest in a growing list of incumbent Republicans who are not going to compete for their House seat,” Politico reports.
He did not cite a specific reason for not running for reelection, but only said he was looking forward to “serving Florida again in the future.”
Donald Trump won the district by 27 points in 2016.
“It’s not just symbolic — we really can’t afford to lose any seats at this point.”
— Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL), quoted by the New York Times, on the high stakes for Republicans in Georgia’s 6th congressional district special election.
“I’ve been in this job eight years, and I’m wracking my brain to think of one thing our party has done that’s been something positive, that’s been something other than stopping something else from happening. We need to start having victories as a party. And if we can’t, then it’s hard to justify why we should be back here.”
— Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL), quoted by The Atlantic.
“Two weeks after floating the idea of a 2016 run for U.S. Senate, Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) said today he has decided against seeking the seat Sen. Marco Rubio is giving up to run for president,” the Palm Beach Post reports.