Dem
51
GOP
49
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), who is in the midst of his eighth term in the House, has decided it will be his last. Yesterday, he announced his retirement, effective at the end of this term.
Luetkemeyer's signature issues, in some order, are promoting business interests and restricting LGBTQ rights. He was one of the members who signed the amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the 2020 election. So, we doubt this is a case of an old war horse who just can't tolerate the current direction of the Republican Party. Luetkemeyer somewhat implied that, at 71, he wants to spend more time with family. Maybe that is true, but we suspect another major factor is that Luetkemeyer really wanted to succeed Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) as chair of the House Financial Services Committee, and he decided that wasn't going to happen, either because he thinks the Democrats are going to retake the lower chamber or because he thinks he's going to be passed over in favor of someone closer to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), like Rep. French Hill (R-AR).
Luetkemeyer's district, MO-03, is R+16, so it won't be changing hands, even as an open seat. Meanwhile, we're up to 14 Republican retirements and 21 Democratic retirements in the House. That's a little on the low side, and January is usually "announcements month," so it's probable that some meaningful number of Luetkemeyer's colleagues will be following his lead in the next few weeks.
One more thing. Most readers, perhaps excepting some of those in Missouri, have never heard of Luetkemeyer. And now that he's leaving the House, he will quickly fade into obscurity, as all but a select few members do. If and when his name appears in any history book, even in a footnote or an appendix, it will be for one thing: signing that amicus brief. How sad that a three-decade career in public service will leave behind only that one, shameful remnant. (Z)