GOP Rep. Paul Cook to retire

GOP Rep. Paul Cook (Calif.) will retire from Congress at the end of this term and run for a seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, he said on Tuesday.

Cook is the 17th House Republican lawmaker to announce they will not seek reelection in 2020.

“After twenty-six years in the Marine Corps, my attention turned first to local government. And while I’ve been called to serve in other capacities such as Congress, my focus has always been on empowering communities and making sure local residents have the strongest voice in decisions that affect them,” he said in a statement. “As supervisor, I’ll work to carry out the will of my constituents, while fighting the bureaucracies in Sacramento and Washington DC that seek to overrun rural communities like ours.”

{mosads}Cook was first elected to his House seat in California’s 8th Congressional District in 2012, and sits on both the House Armed Services Committee and Natural Resources Committee. 

Prior to his time in Congress, Cook served in the California State Assembly, taught courses at both Copper Mountain College and University of California, Riverside, and served as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps. 

Cook’s retirement was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

President Trump won Cook’s district by more than 15 points in 2016. Cook won his last election there against another Republican with 60 percent of the vote.

The California Republican has already endorsed Assemblyman Jay Obernolte in the race to be his successor, according to Obernolte’s website. 

—Updated at 1:55 p.m.