The announcement comes as Republicans gear up to win back his Wisconsin district that voted for Trump.
One of the most conservative House Democrats announced Tuesday he will not run for reelection next year, leaving behind a western Wisconsin district that has tilted politically to the right over the last decade. Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) decided not to run for another term as Republicans gear up to try to win back the district for the first time since 1994, an easier pickup opportunity without Kind running in a district that Donald Trump won twice after voters there had supported the previous four Democratic nominees. Kind,58, was a founding member of the New Democrat Coalition, an internal caucus that has long skewed toward more centrist economic policy in the mold of Bill Clinton’s presidency. He supported many trade agreements, including the 2015 fast-track authority that allowed the Obama administration to try to negotiate a massive Pacific Rim trade compact. As the district grew more conservative, Kind faced more difficult challenges every two years, seeing his voting percentage shrink from 64 percent in 2012 to 51 percent in 2020.
