More lawmakers could be joining the Republican exodus from the U.S. House of Representatives.
About two dozen GOP House members have already said they don't plan to seek re-election, and NOTUS surveyed more than 120 members – about half the House Republican Conference – and found several mysteriously declined to pledge they would run again.
“We haven’t made that decision yet,” said Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH), who added that he would "probably" run again.
“I’ve made a decision,” said Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), who's also weighing a Wyoming gubernatorial campaign after one term in office. “An announcement will be made soon.”
NOTUS reported that 18 Republicans plan to leave the House and run for the Senate, governor or state attorney general, and another seven will leave Congress altogether.
“There’s a lot of them bailing,” said Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL), who told NOTUS he was planning to run again.
Last year, 45 House members – 24 Democrats and 21 Republicans – did not seek re-election, but 43 have already said they won't run again next year – 24 Republicans and 19 Democrats.
Several Republicans asked NOTUS reporters what they were hearing about their fellow lawmakers' plans, and some indicated they had not made decisions yet for next year.
“It’s Dec. 16 – yes, I plan on running," said Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV). "Ask me in 60 days.”
Some of the older members of the Republican caucus, including Reps. Hal Rogers (R-KY), 87, and Virginia Foxx (R-NC), 82, confirmed they intend to seek another term, while another older member recognized that he would eventually retire.
“About eight months ago, my wife and I had a discussion and we said, ‘We’re taking off any end game,” said Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), 78. “I’m not saying I’m going to run one more term. Am I going to run forever? No. But for the foreseeable future, I got some things I’m working on here that I plan to get done.”