U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, NC Republican who served as interim speaker, to retire from Congress
Patrick McHenry, the congressman from Lincoln County who rose to one of the highest ranks in United States government this year when he briefly served as U.S. House speaker, said Tuesday that he'll retire from Congress.
The announcement is a reversal: McHenry — who filled the speaker role following the ouster of former speaker Kevin McCarthy in October — had said just over a month ago that he would seek reelection.
When he announced his decision Tuesday to retire from the U.S. House, he didn't explain what changed his mind. McHenry's decision, however, comes as the House GOP caucus has been fractured by infighting over the House speaker position and other political battles.
"Past, present, and future, the House of Representatives is the center of our American republic," McHenry said in a written statement. "Through good and bad, during the highest of days and the lowest, and from proud to infamous times, the House is the venue for our nation’s disagreements bound up in our hopes for a better tomorrow."
The announcement immediately sparked speculation over who would run to fill the newly redrawn 10th Congressional District. The district, which will stretch from the Charlotte suburbs north through Hickory and Statesville into Winston-Salem, is considered a safe Republican seat. Several high-ranking state lawmakers live in the district; at least one is considering running to replace McHenry. And at least one other Republican has announced a campaign for the seat.
"I have already received a great number of calls and inquiries in a very short time span," state Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln, who has been close friends with McHenry since they were in college, said Tuesday. "I will need time to discuss with my family and closest supports as to whether we believe that this is the right path for me and for the 10th District."
Republican Pat Harrigan, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2022, said Tuesday he'll seek McHenry's seat in 2024. Harrigan had been campaigning against North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore in the GOP primary for the neighboring 14th district, but announced Tuesday that he'd switch districts given the news of McHenry's retirement.
McHenry, 48, was first elected to Congress in 2005 as a 29-year-old conservative rabble-rouser. He later decided to work with the system rather than against it, rising through the ranks of House leadership over the past two decades to become chairman of the influential House Financial Services Committee, in addition to other roles.
He was a top ally to McCarthy and helped the California Republican get the votes he needed to become speaker in January by a razor-thin margin. And when a far-right revolt ousted McCarthy two months ago, it was McHenry who took over until a more permanent leader could be named. He led the House through multiple failed efforts to settle on a speaker, until finally Republicans elected U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana after higher-profile politicians all failed to win enough support. McHenry himself never ran to keep the Speaker's position permanently.
McHenry's retirement adds to the likely high turnover in North Carolina's congressional delegation: If the new district lines drawn by the state legislature in October are allowed to be used in the 2024 elections — not a guarantee, due to a racial gerrymandering lawsuit filed Monday — then three Democratic representatives will see their seats turned into safe Republican districts.
They are U.S. Reps. Wiley Nickel of Cary, Kathy Manning of Greensboro and Jeff Jackson of Charlotte. A fourth Democrat, Rep. Don Davis of Snow Hill, filed for reelection Monday to his newly redrawn district, which is now considered a tossup in 2024. On top of those opportunities for Republicans to add new conservative faces to the U.S. House, there's also a race to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop. He's leaving Congress to run for attorney general, as is Jackson.
Adding in McHenry's retirement, it's possible that nearly half of the state's 14-member U.S. House delegation will be brand new following next year's elections.
