Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) announced on Thursday he will not seek re-election in 2024, ending his term in Congress on Jan. 3, 2025, and giving Republicans a possible pickup opportunity in the battle to hold onto control of the House next year.
Kildee, 65, pointed to his cancer diagnosis and his ensuing reevaluation of his life as part of his decision to leave office. But in the battleground state of Michigan, the GOP is itching to flip the state's 8th Congressional District.
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“I was first elected to public office when I was 18 years old. Nearly five decades later, I continue to love public service and the work I do every day. For most of this year, I saw myself continuing to serve and was actively planning another campaign," Kildee said in a statement. "But there are times in all our lives that make you reassess your own future and path. For me, being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year was one of those moments. Thankfully, earlier this year I had successful surgery and I’m cancer-free."
The Michigan congressman was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma but with surgery that removed a tumor in his tonsil, he declared he was cancer-free in May. Although he won't seek another term Kildee claims he won't retire from public life.
“While I’m stepping back from elected office at the end of my term, I’m most definitely not retiring. I’m looking forward to a new chapter continuing to serve Flint and mid-Michigan, just outside of elected office," he added.
For nearly 60 years, elections in Flint, Michigan have been synonymous with a Kildee victory. Dale Kildee, a Flint high school teacher and son of a Buick assembly line worker, won his first election to the Michigan Legislature in 1964. Flint voters would then elect the Democrat to the state Senate and, in 1976, to the U.S. House of Representatives where Kildee would serve for 36 years.
Nephew Dan Kildee, who previously served as Genesee County treasurer, won the seat in 2012 with the family’s backing and secured the congressional district safe for Democrats for the next decade.
The 2022 redistricting map, however, put Kildee’s district in play. As a result of a ballot measure in 2018, a new independent commission drew MI-08 to include Bay, Saginaw, and Genesee counties as well as a chunk of Midland County, a traditional conservative stronghold.
President Joe Biden won the newly configured district over former President Donald Trump by two percentage points in 2020. Kildee claimed that Biden will hold onto Michigan in his 2024 reelection bid next year.
"I am confident that Michigan will re-elect President Biden, entrust Democrats with legislative majorities and elect a Democrat to serve Michigan’s Eighth District after I retire from Congress," said Kildee. "And while my name will not be on the ballot next November, I will be doing everything I can to help elect common sense, principled and results-oriented leaders."
The National Republican Congressional Committee named Kildee as a top target for 2024.
Kildee had already drawn one GOP challenger in Martin Blank, a trauma surgeon, decorated Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a local police officer.
Blank, however, hasn’t had success yet in politics. He came in fourth in the August 2022 four-way GOP primary race for a Senate seat. With the rare open seat, other Republicans may be compelled to announce their congressional bids.
Dave Wasserman of the CookPoliticalReport with Amy Walter said Kildee's district would be "another tough open seat for Dems to defend" and moved the seat from "Lean D to Toss UP."
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Republicans did not pass up an opportunity to gloat over Kildee's decision not to seek reelection. “Democrats are in shambles as their list of swing-district Democrats who are racing for the exits continues to grow. Republicans are looking forward to flipping this seat red," said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the main super PAC aligned with House GOP leadership, also championed a GOP pick-up opportunity. "With Dan Kildee’s departure, this already attainable seat becomes an even better pickup opportunity for House Republicans on the road to expanding the majority,” said Congressional Leadership Fund communications director Courtney Parella.
Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.