GOP Advantage Increases in House After Death of Third Democratic Lawmaker in Three Months
There have been 19 deaths of sitting members of Congress in the past 10 years, 13 of them Democrats.
The Republican advantage in the House of Representatives has increased after the death of another Democratic congressman. The open seat, however, doesnât give Speaker Johnson any immediate wiggle room in securing passage of legislation.
Republicans can still only afford to lose three votes to pass legislation if Democrats all vote together against a bill. Mr. Johnson has been attempting to secure enough Republican support for President Trumpâs âbig, beautiful billâ that includes new tax breaks and cuts to Medicaid and other spending programs.
The family of Congressman Gerry Connolly announced his death on Wednesday morning. He is the third Democrat in the House to die this year, giving the GOP a 220 to 212 advantage until special elections are held in the solidly Democratic districts that lost representatives.
Congressman Sylvester Turner died March 5, but Texas wonât hold a special election to fill Turnerâs seat until November, leaving it open most of the year, the Texas Tribune reports. Democrats have threatened to sue Governor Abbott over delays in setting a date for the vote.
Congressman Raul Grijalva died on March 13 and Arizona has scheduled a special election in September to replace him.
Connolly had represented Virginiaâs 11th district since 2009 and had previously announced that he was not going to seek re-election. The seat, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., is considered a strongly Democrat one, and Governor Youngkin will have to set a date for a special election to replace Connolly.
There have been 19 deaths of sitting members of Congress in the past 10 years and 13 of them have been Democrats, including the eight most recent.
Florida held two special elections on April 1 to fill seats in strongly Republican districts. Those elections were scheduled quickly after Representatives Michael Waltz and Matt Gaetz resigned when they were nominated to serve in President Trumpâs Cabinet.
Mr. Gaetz later withdrew his name from consideration and chose not to seek a return to Congress. Mr. Waltz recently resigned as national security advisor to take up the role of Americaâs ambassador to the United Nations.
