In yet another blow to House Republicans on Friday, Axios reports that one more member is throwing in the towel for re-election.
Specifically, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who has emphatically maintained until now that he is in fact running for re-election, is expected to end that bid, according to multiple sources.
"The development shakes up the race for his seat significantly, with another Republican ally of Issa's reportedly filing to run instead," wrote Andrew Solender. "Issa's website was recently changed to display his PAC's logo rather than that of his campaign, Punchbowl News reported."
Issa, who once chaired the powerful House Oversight Committee, first left Congress in 2019, declining to run for his San Diego district as it became clear it was trending heavily in favor of Democrats.
He later returned to Congress in 2021, running for a different, more conservative district also in the San Diego area after its previous representative, Duncan Hunter, was driven out by a public corruption prosecution that President Donald Trump later pardoned.
This time, he would face a steep battle for re-election because his district was redrawn to be significantly more Democratic-favoring after voters passed Proposition 50, a mid-decade redistricting that retaliates against an aggressive partisan gerrymander in Texas.
Republicans have been hamstrung by a wave of incumbent retirements, which could further complicate their path to holding the House in a midterm year when polls are already swinging heavily in favor of Democrats.
