Democrat Representative Announces Retirement

Another Democrat has called it quits.

Democrat Representative Danny Davis of Illinois has announced he will not seek reelection.

Rep. Davis has spent 29 years in office after being first elected to Congress in 1996.

Axios reported more details on Rep. Davis retirement:

Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) is expected to announce this week that he will not seek reelection, a senior House Democrat familiar with the matter told Axios on the condition of anonymity.

The development comes as Democrats’ old guard is facing a virtual revolt among their younger grassroots base to step aside and allow a new generation of leaders to emerge.

The announcement will cap off months of speculation about whether the 83-year-old, first elected in 1996, would try to fend off a growing field of Democratic primary challengers.

“Congressman Davis will make an announcement tomorrow,” Davis’ chief of staff Tumia Romero told Axios, adding, “We have not made known what the announcement will be.”

The news was first reported by NBC 5 Chicago, which said that Davis will endorse state Rep. LaShawn Ford to replace him.

Businessman Jason Friedman and Forest Park mayor Rory Hoskins are already running for the seat.
Several other local Democrats have been mulling bids as well, according to Politico’s Illinois Playbook.

The official announcement: IL Congressman Danny Davis will not run for re-election #Congress pic.twitter.com/V1KFlY2Et1

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) July 31, 2025

AP had more details to add on Davis’ retirement:

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis announced Thursday that he won’t seek reelection next year after 15 terms in office, making him the latest longtime Illinois Democrat to announce their retirement from Congress.

Davis, 83, sits on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means. First elected in 1996, he represents a solidly Democratic district that includes downtown Chicago, large sections of the city’s South and West Sides, and inner ring suburbs.

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“We’re not going to go away,” Davis said, flanked by his wife, local pastors and congressmen at a parking lot in East Garfield Park on Chicago’s West Side. “But the time has come.”

Davis’s retirement adds to an already unsettled 2026 congressional landscape in Illinois, where there are now four open seats.

His announcement comes months after longtime U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky said she won’t run again and U.S Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, decided he won’t seek a sixth term in 2026. There are two other open congressional seats, with U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly planning to run for Senate.

While serving in Congress, Davis has been a fierce Trump critic:

The first 100 days of the Trump Administration have been marked by nothing but chaos, incompetence, and cruelty. Democrats have come together to expose what the American people already know: this administration is a disaster for working families, and a threat to democracy. pic.twitter.com/6miYhtJnaU

— Rep. Danny K. Davis (@RepDannyDavis) April 30, 2025