Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) is retiring at the end of his current term, he announced Tuesday.
Kind, 58, told reporters in La Crosse that he’s “running out of gas.”
“The other sad truth is I’m part of a dying breed in public service today, in Washington, and certainly in Madison, someone who tried to be reasonable, pragmatic, thoughtful, worked hard to try to find common ground with my colleagues, work in a bipartisan way to find bipartisan solutions for the challenges that we face,” he added.
According to political trackers, Kind is among the most moderate members of Congress.
Kind has represented Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District since 1997.
The Wisconsin Democrat narrowly won re-election in 2020, beating Republican Derrick Van Orden by under 3 percent of the vote, or about 10,000 votes.
Kind is one of a smattering of Democrats who represent districts that voted for President Donald Trump’s reelection in 2020, making the district a key target for Republicans as they seek to flip the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections.
Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL, is running again for the seat. His campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.
Kind is the sixth House member to announce he will retire at the end of his current term.
The others are Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), Filemon Vela (D-Texas), Kevin Brady (R-Texas), and Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.).
Ten additional members are seeking higher office, such as a U.S. Senate seat.
Five incumbent senators are stepping down in early 2023. They are all Republicans and include Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).
The House is currently composed of 220 Democrats and 212 Republicans, with one member-elect from each party set to be sworn in after recent special elections in Ohio to fill vacant seats.
A single vacancy exists that isn’t set to be filled. That’s for Florida’s 20th Congressional District. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), who held the seat, died this year.
