Last week Long Island Democrat of the 4th District Representative Kathleen Rice announced she will be retiring at the end of her term.
“I have always believed that holding political office is neither destiny nor a right. As elected officials, we must give all we have and then know when it is time to allow others to serve,” Rice wrote in her announcement.
Representative Rice has served her district since 2015 and before that, she was District Attorney General for Nassau County. Representative Rice district has stayed relatively untouched from the state redistricting map.
According to Princeton Gerrymandering Project, the Representative’s district is made up of 57.7% Democratic voters.
Representative Rice’s retirement announcement makes 22 House Democrats that will retire from public office outright, while eight others are leaving the House to run for another office.
By comparison, six House Republicans have announced retirements. Another seven Republicans are running for another office and two have resigned.
The high number of House Democrats, exit signals the party is anticipating a tough set of midterm elections, and for Republicans to flip the chamber.
