Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), who has represented the District of Columbia since 1991 and is now a nonvoting congressional delegate, said Tuesday there's no question she planned to run again to keep her seat in the House.
The civil rights icon turns 88 on Friday.
Politico reported that when asked if she would endure another election season, she responded, “Yeah, sure. I’m going to run. I don’t know why anybody would even ask me.”
Norton is one of six delegates currently in Congress who have floor privileges and are permitted to introduce legislation but cannot vote in the full House.
Politico cited multiple recent news reports about Norton's frequent absences on the House floor that have "concerned some local officials and activists."
Even those close to Norton said it may be time to retire. The Washington Post quoted Democratic strategist and Norton confidant Donna Brazile, saying, “It’s time to turn things over. You’ve done it all."
In a statement to the Post, Norton asserted, "To anyone questioning my ability to serve effectively, I have one simple response: My record speaks for itself."
"Given Norton’s stature, many in D.C. political circles and on Capitol Hill have long been hesitant to raise questions about her age and effectiveness," wrote Washington Post reporters Meagan Flynn, Marianna Sotomayor, and Paul Kane. "Their discomfort speaks to a broader political reckoning within an aging Congress: balancing respect for decades of experience and power with the reality of inevitable decline."
Politico reported on a recent gaffe that a Norton spokesperson said was the result of the delegate mishearing a question and answering "no" when asked if the House should vote to fix a shortfall in funding affecting D.C.
Spokesperson "Sharon Eliza Nichols said Norton misheard the question and believed reporters were asking about the D.C.-related bills on the House floor this week," Politico reported. "Nichols said Norton meant to say those bills aren’t of national importance and were contrary to D.C. residents’ own decisions about their government and believed they shouldn’t have been introduced or brought to the House floor."
