Florida Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy announced Monday that she will not seek reelection in 2022.
“These last few years have been some of the most rewarding moments of my life, but also some of the most challenging,” Murphy, who holds Florida’s suburban Orlando-area 7th District Congressional seat, said in a statement announcing her decision. “Public service is not without personal sacrifice. And as a mom of two young children, my time away from them has been hard. So, I wanted to share with you that I will not be seeking another term as your representative in Congress.”
She joins a wave of House Democrats announcing retirements rather than run for reelection in 2022, when Republicans have a good chance of winning back the House. Murphy is the 22nd House Democrat not running for another term in 2022.
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Murphy won the seat in 2016 after beating a 24-year Republican incumbent. In Congress this year, the member of the centrist Democrats' Blue Dog Coalition in the House was part of a high-profile effort pushing Democrats to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill immediately and was skeptical about some measures in Democrats’ sweeping Build Back Better social spending and tax bill.
A Vietnamese-born daughter of Vietnam War refugees, Murphy is also a member of the House select committee formed to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“This was not an easy decision, but it was the right decision,” Murphy said.
I've decided not to seek another term in Congress. Serving Central Florida has been the honor of my life, but it's also been incredibly challenging for my family and me.
— Stephanie Murphy (@SMurphyCongress) December 20, 2021
This was not an easy decision, but it is the right decision. Thank you for everything. pic.twitter.com/UaOufbPOSo
While Murphy won reelection in 2020 by more than 12 points, redistricting threatened her electoral future. Redistricting proposals in Florida include one map that would have made the district considerably more Republican-leaning, but other versions would keep it similar to its current makeup. In an interview with Politico, Murphy said that she believed she could have won reelection in any of the proposed maps.
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Republicans celebrated Murphy’s announcement.
“Between Build Back Better collapsing and an unmitigated retirement crisis, this is truly Democrats’ nightmare before Christmas,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Camille Gallo said in a statement.