DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton files to end reelection campaign
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who served Congress for 35 years, filed paperwork Sunday indicating she will not seek reelection.
Norton, 88, filed a termination report with the Federal Election Commission, which is commonly done when a public officeholder is ending a reelection campaign.
Norton has not publicly announced her plans, and WTOP has reached out to her office for comment. The filing was first reported by NOTUS, the online news site of the Allbritton Journalism Institute.
Several local Democrats have urged Norton not to run for reelection, though they have been careful to praise her decades of public service.
But for months, Norton has suggested she was still planning to run, and her office has put out a steady stream of press releases related to her work.
Ahead of Sunday’s winter storm, she reminded D.C. residents of the legislative provision she got passed that allows people to sled on Capitol Hill.
“The West Front of the Capitol is widely known as one of the best sledding hills in D.C.’s high-density urban environment,” she said in a statement. “Sledding is a simple childhood joy, and in the middle of winter, it is the least we can allow our children.”
Norton has noticeably slowed down in recent years and often needs assistance from aides while attending events.
Several candidates are currently seeking the Democratic nomination for Norton’s office, which is a non-voting position in the U.S. House of Representatives (though votes can be made in committee).
They include: D.C. Council members Robert White and Brooke Pinto; Democratic strategist Kinney Zalesne, Jacque Patterson, the president of the D.C. State Board of Education; and Trent Holbrook, a former senior aide for Norton.