(RepublicanInformer.com)- The number of Democrat House members who won’t be seeking reelection in November now stands at 29.
Last Tuesday, Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper, who has served in Congress since 1983, announced that he would not be running in the upcoming midterm elections.
Cooper’s announcement comes after the Tennessee legislature voted to alter his blue-leaning Nashville-area district by dividing it into three separate districts.
Cooper, who was a member of the Democrats’ moderate Blue Dog Coalition, acknowledged that his decision not to run again was largely due to the Republican-led redistricting map. He blasted the Tennessee General Assembly for “dismembering Nashville” and said despite his strength in the polls, he was unable to stop “the gerrymandering” that divided his district.
Cooper’s decision not to run was welcomed by America First Republican Robby Starbuck who announced his campaign to challenge Cooper over the summer.
When Starbuck first announced his candidacy in June, he immediately gained endorsements from a wide array of conservative pundits as well as America First members of Congress.
But after Cooper announced last week, establishment Republicans in DC, indifferent to Starbuck, suggested that former Jeb Bush supporter Morgan Ortagus should run to replace Cooper.
In no time, former President Donald Trump landed himself in hot water when he released a statement saying he would endorse Ortagus if she decided to run in November.
This did not go over well among the America First supporters backing Robby Starbuck.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, along with conservative pundits like Candace Owens, Tammy Bruce, and Dinesh D’Souza criticized the former president’s decision to endorse Ortagus over Starbuck and reiterated their support for Starbuck’s campaign.
Congressman Gaetz noted that Morgan Ortagus, who has not declared that she is running, supported Jeb Bush in 2016. Ortagus was also criticized for, among other things, posing with Joe Biden and having Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiate her wedding.
As the blowback against Trump’s kneecapping of Starbuck’s campaign reached a fever pitch, it was reported that Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s social media director Dan Scavino were privately voicing their displeasure at what even Trump’s inner circle is admitting was an ill-advised endorsement.
