SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) A Republican member of the California Congress said on Tuesday that he would not run for reelection next year, thus becoming the 18th GOP president to withdraw from the House of Representatives, now that the party is a minority.
United States Representative Paul Cook announced that he will run for the San Bernardino County Supervisory Board in 2020.
California has 53 seats in the US House, the largest number of states. His Republican Congress delegation was cut in half by mid-term in 2018, leaving only seven seats to his party.
Cook's work in the 8th congressional district of California, east of Los Angeles, would probably have been safe if he had wanted it. President Donald Trump garnered over 54% of the vote in the district in 2016. And in a state where the two largest voters qualify for general elections, the 8th District is the only one in 2018 to have two opposing Republicans. other.
However, local government jobs in California are larger than in most states. The county of San Bernardino has more than 2 million inhabitants, making it one of the largest counties in the country.
Cook declined to explain his decision through a spokesperson. In a press release, Cook alluded to frustrations related to the bureaucracy in Washington.
"As a supervisor, I will work to achieve the will of my constituents while fighting the bureaucracies of Sacramento and Washington, DC, who seek to invade rural communities like ours," Cook said.
Republican Assembly member Jay Obernolte has already announced his candidacy for Cook's place, launching a campaign website on Tuesday that includes Cook's endorsement.
Cook is the 18th Republican of the House this year to say that they will not re-elect in 2020 or that they will resign from office, a significant number that is expected to increase. To date, only four Democrats in the House have announced their departure.
18PICTURES
Representatives of the House who are not candidates for re-election in 2020
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Representative Mike Conaway, R-Texas
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Representative Will Hurd, R-Texas
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Rep. Jose Serrano, New York
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Rep. Martha Roby, R-Alabama
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Representative Rob Woodall, Georgia
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Representative David Loebsack, D-Iowa
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Representative Rob Bishop, R-Utah
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Representative Pete Olson, R-Texas
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Susan Brooks, representative of Indiana
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Representative Paul Mitchell, R-Michigan
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DOSSIER – In this May 17, 2013 archive photo, Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, is speaking at Capitol Hill, in the state of Washington. Two Republican representatives said the Texas representative, who has eight terms, would announce his retirement. (AP Photo / Charles Dharapak)
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., On Wednesday, June 13, 2018, leaves a closed meeting of the GOP on Immigration, at Capitol Hill, Washington. House Speaker Paul Ryan then gave an optimistic assessment to reporters after negotiating an agreement between party factions on a process to review the GOP's rival immigration plans to protect young immigrants. "dreamers" illegally brought to the United States as children. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)
USA – SEPTEMBER 11: Representative Bill Flores, R-Texas, attends the House Subcommittee hearing on Energy and Trade on the Environment and Climate Change entitled " Protect and secure chemical facilities from terrorist attacks at Rayburn Building on Wednesday, September 11, 2019. (Photo by Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
San Diego, Calif. – July 13: Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-53) participates in the 2019 San Diego Pride Parade on July 13, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton / Getty Images)
Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) At an audition at Capitol Hill on February 27, 2014 in Washington, Tribune News Service via Getty Images. (Astrid Riecken / MCT / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Congressman Roger Marshall (R-KS) addressing his 1st District constituents at the GOP Annual Convention in Topeka, Kansas on February 16, 2019. (Photo by Mark Reinstein / Corbis via Getty Images )
DOSSIER – In this archival photo of March 15, 2012, then-Congressman Paul Cook of R-Yucca Valley speaks at a press conference at the Capitol in Sacramento, in California. June 7, 2016. (AP Photo / Rich Pedroncelli, File)
DOSSIER – On July 18, 2018, photo of file, Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc., Pose a question to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at a House Committee hearing on services Capitol Hill, Washington. Duffy, who represents northern Wisconsin in Congress, resigned in September 2019. Duffy posted on his Facebook page Monday that he was resigning Sept. 23 to spend more time with his family. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin, File)
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Of the 18 outgoing Republicans in the House, 16 will serve their two-year term, but are no longer candidates for the presidency. Former Pennsylvania representative, Tom Marino, left Congress in January and has already been replaced, and Wisconsin's representative, Sean Duffy, announced that he would step down next Monday.
This decision would be a return to local government for Cook, a veteran of the Vietnam War who began his political career on Yucca Valley City Council. He spent six years at the California Assembly before being elected to Congress in 2012.
"Although I have been called upon to perform other functions, such as Congress, my goal has always been to empower communities and to ensure that local residents have the most weight possible in the world. decisions that affect them, "Cook said.
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Alan Fram, Associated Press reporter, contributed from Washington.
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