Veteran New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen said Monday he will not seek reelection — making him the 33rd Republican House member to call it a career before the midterm elections.
“Today, as I announce my retirement at the end of this session of Congress, I want to use the opportunity to strongly encourage the many young people I meet to consider public service,” Frelinghuysen said in a statement.
“Public service is an incredible way to turn your convictions into something that serves the greater good and to do it alongside people from every walk of life and background,” he said.
The Jersey lawmaker (inset), first elected in 1994, also decried the partisan rancor roiling Congress.
“I have worked in a bipartisan manner, not just in times of crisis, but always, because I believe it best serves my constituents, my state and our country,” he said.
Frelinghuysen, 71, who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee, represents a northern Jersey suburban district that has grown increasingly competitive in recent years and he faces a tough challenger in Democrat Mikie Sherrill, 46.
Sherrill, of Montclair, is a graduate of the US Naval Academy, a former Navy chopper pilot and ex-federal prosecutor who is married with four children. She has also raised more cash than the incumbent.
She was gracious in a tweet acknowledging her opponent’s record.
“While Rep. Frelinghuysen and I did not agree on many issues, as a fellow veteran I deeply respect his service to our country and to this community. From serving in Vietnam, to the NJ legislature, to the US House, Rep. Frelinghuysen dedicated himself to protecting this country,” Sherrill wrote.
Frelinghuysen served with the 93rd Engineer Battalion during the Vietnam War.
He represents the Garden State’s 11th congressional district, which President Trump won by only one point in 2016. In another cautionary sign, Phil Murphy won the district in the governor’s race in November.
With Wires