GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs to retire amid Ohio primary battle

Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), elected in 2010, announced his retirement Wednesday morning, citing redistricting as his reasoning behind not running for reelection.

“It is irresponsible to effectively confirm the congressional map for this election cycle seven days before voting begins, especially in the Seventh Congressional District where almost 90 percent of the electorate is new and nearly two thirds is an area primarily from another district, foreign to any expectations or connections to the current Seventh District,” Gibbs wrote in a statement.

When Gibbs was first elected to the House in 2010, he represented the 18th District in Ohio, but then after redistricting in 2012, he ran in the newly redrawn 7th District, which he has represented since. 

The predominantly rural 7th District was redrawn after the 2020 census to include some of Cleveland’s suburbs. Just 12 percent of Gibbs’s old district remained in the new one, according to a report by Cleveland.com.

He also faced an uphill battle in the Republican primary, contesting Max Miller, a well-funded onetime aide to former President Trump. Trump has backed Miller even though Gibbs has been a loyal supporter of the former president.

“Congressman Bob Gibbs has championed Ohio values in Congress for more than a decade,” Miller wrote in a statement to The Hill. “He has been a fighter for Ohio voters and we should all be thankful for his contribution to our state and our country.”

Gibbs isn’t the only Republican to retire amid challenges faced in redistricting.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) announced his retirement on Tuesday. He would have faced another incumbent Republican, Rep. Bill Huizenga (Mich.), in the primary because of a redrawn map.

Updated at 10:49 a.m.