Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times(emphasis ours),
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said he will not seek reelection in his southern California district,which had been redrawn to favor Democrats in last year’s redistricting.
On March 6, the longtime congressman announced, shortly after the candidate filing deadline passed, that he would retire at the end of his term.
“This decision has been on my mind for a while, and I didn’t make it lightly,” Issa said in astatementannouncing the end of his reelection bid.
Issa said he had built a strong campaign operation, enjoyed broad support, and believed polling showed he could win. But after roughly a quarter-century in Congress and another quarter-century in business, he saidit was time “for a new chapter and new challenges.”
“First, we built the right campaign infrastructure, support has been overwhelming—including from President [Donald] Trump—and our polling was unmistakable: We would win this race. But after a quarter-century in Congress—and before that, a quarter-century in business—it’s the right time for a new chapter and new challenges.”
Issa endorsed San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, a fellow Republican, to succeed him. Desmond filed paperwork on the morning of March 6 amid uncertainty over whether Issa might be dropping out of the race.
“He understands this community, was born and raised here, and will make a terrific Congressman,” Issa said of Desmond.
A former Army officer and tech entrepreneur, Issa was first elected to a San Diego-area House seat in 2000. He chaired the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee from 2011 to 2014, overseeing high-profile investigations during the Obama administration, including probes into the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and “Operation Fast and Furious,” where ATF agents allowed illegal gun purchases in an effort to map Mexican cartel networks but lost track of many of the weapons.
Issa left Congress in 2018 after Trump, then in his first term, nominated him to head the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. Although his nomination never advanced in the Senate, he mounted a successful comeback in 2020, winning a seat that had remained safely Republican until the latest remapping shifted the partisan balance of his 48th District.
Source: ZeroHedge News
