California House Dem Cárdenas won’t run for reelection

Democratic Rep. Tony Cárdenas (Calif.) will not run for reelection in 2024 after nearly three decades in public service, according to the congressman’s office.

A staffer with Cárdenas’s office confirmed a Los Angeles Times report on Monday about the California Democrat’s decision. Cárdenas told the Times it will be the first time in 28 years he is not on a ballot or in office.

“The truth of the matter is I thought I could do this just for a few years … I’m just at the age where I have enough energy and experience to maybe do something [different] and have another chapter of a career where I don’t have to go to Washington, D.C., 32 weeks out of the year,” he told the Times.

Cárdenas, 60, was first elected to the U.S. House in 2013 to represent California’s 29th Congressional District, making him the first Latino elected to represent the San Fernando Valley.

Cárdenas’s district in deep blue California leans heavily toward Democrats with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report labeling it as a “solid Democrat” district with a rating of D+26.

The seat will likely stay in Democrats’ hands, though it could be a crowded race.

California State Assembly member Luz Rivas’s office confirmed to The Hill she plans to run to replace Cárdenas, who has already endorsed the assembly member.

“Tony Cárdenas has been a tireless voice for working families, children, and immigrants,” Rivas said in a statement. “He is a true visionary who championed green energy, justice reform, and animal rights long before these issues became popular.”

Cárdenas sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where his efforts have focused on lowering prescription drug prices, protecting American consumers and combatting climate change, according to his office.

His work has also focused on immigration reform, juvenile justice, protection of America’s youth and making the U.S economy stronger, his office said.

Prior to his time in the U.S. House, Cárdenas was elected in 1996 to the California State Assembly, where he served three terms. He was later elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2003.

In 2020, Cárdenas launched an unsuccessful bid for to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Shortly after he announced his second run for the job in 2022, House Democrats voted to make the DCCC chair an appointed position.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) tapped Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) for the role after both Cárdenas and Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) threw their hats into the ring.

Jeffries on Monday applauded Cárdenas’s work in the House and wished the California lawmaker well in his next chapter.

“While Tony is the first Latino to represent the San Fernando Valley, he has made it his mission not to be the last,” Jeffries wrote in a statement. “As a leader within the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, he’s been instrumental in increasing the number of Latinos serving in Congress to a record level.”

Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) added that the House Democratic Caucus is “grateful” for Cárdenas’s “dedicated service and friendship.”

“The first Latino Member of Congress elected to represent the San Fernando Valley, Congressman Tony Cárdenas has led a career defined by trailblazing vision, grit, and devotion to his constituents,” Clark wrote in a statement Monday.