Representative Tony Cardenas (D-CA) announced that he would not seek reelection in 2024, becoming the 20th Democrat to opt out ahead of 2024.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Cardenas confirmed his intention to step away after 28 years in politics.
Cardenas stated, "It will be the first time in 28 years that I’m not on the ballot. 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."
Cardenas is done with Washington D.C. and now Democrats have yet another seat that they need to fill as they are struggling to hold the line in the House, let alone seize a majority.
While Cardenas wasn't open about his reasoning beyond being tired and ready to move on, it isn't a stretch to say that Cardenas saw the writing on the wall and wanted out before the 2024 elections.
Democrats are having a bad enough time with President Joe Biden falling behind former President Donald Trump in the polls.
President Biden is an anchor on the Democrat Party and that in combination with the exploding antisemitism crisis in the Democrat Party, there is a strong reason to expect Democrats could have a terrible election season.
Cardenas is the 20th House Democrat to opt against a reelection bid in 2024 versus just 10 Republicans who have bowed out.
Cardenas has been representing a San Fernando Valley-based seat for the past few decades and it is a heavily Democrat area which means that it is unlikely Democrats will loose Cardenas's seat.
But the problem isn't down to replacing retiring veteran Democrats. Former Democrat Representative Steve Israel said, "It’s not the quantity of retirements. It’s the quality. These are people who really understand how to get things done."
What Israel seems to be concerned about with is replacing veterans with younger more radical replacements who won't be able to get things done.
It is no secret that Congress has become increasingly disorderly and ineffective. This is in part to the increasing polarization in both political parties.
The Republican Party is split between establishment Republicans who are more akin to Democrats than true conservatives. The Democrat Party has a similar issue with the older establishment having to deal with a rising far-left segment.
The Democrat Party cannot afford to lose more veterans like Cardenas, especially with younger Democrats continuing to embrace radical and antisemitic ideas.
