Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) announced that he would not seek re-election to the U.S. House in 2020. He said in a statement, “[F]or me, the time has come to pursue new challenges and opportunities. So, I will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, nor election to any other office.” Walden was first elected to represent Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District in 1998 and most recently won re-election in 2018 with 56 percent of the vote.
Walden is the 19th Republican member of the U.S. House to announce he will not seek re-election in 2020 and is the second one to do so in October. Seven Democratic members of the U.S. House have announced 2020 retirements so far. In the 2018 election cycle, 52 members of the U.S. House—18 Democrats and 34 Republicans—did not seek re-election.
Currently, Democrats hold a 234-197 majority in the U.S. House with one independent member of the chamber and three vacancies. In November 2020, all 435 seats will be up for election.
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