Cook Political Report: GOP Losing Members of Congress at Breakneck Pace Since Trump Took Office

According to Dave Wasserman, the U.S. House editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, the Republican Party is losing members of Congress at a breakneck pace.

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“Fact: when President Trump took office in January 2017, there were 241 Republicans in the House. Since then, 115 (48%) have either retired, resigned, been defeated or are retiring in 2020,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Keep in mind: most of the Rs likeliest to speak out *against* Trump were replaced by Democrats, and most others – like Tipton in #CO03 – are being replaced by even more pro-Trump Rs. Lesson: there is no going back to a GOP ‘before Trump,'” he noted.

“For reference,” he concluded, “this 48% figure exceeds the attrition rate of Democrats at this point in Obama’s first term – 112/256 (44%) – and note that 2012 being a redistricting year contributed to plenty of Dem retirements/losses.”

“Among the newly departing: five-term Rep. Scott Tipton of Colorado. Tipton was endorsed by Trump, but lost to Lauren Boebert, a far-right challenger in Tuesday’s primary,” CNN reports, noting that “despite the Trump-era exodus,” several “departing Republican House members are hardly vocal critics of the President.” The outlet cited the departures of Texas Representative Will Hurd, Illinois Representative John Shimkus, both of whom retired.

Alan Herrera

Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.