Rep. Connolly Won’t Seek Reelection, Will Step Down from Top Oversight Role

The longtime Virginia congressman will focus his energy on beating cancer.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) listens at a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on June 16, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) will not seek reelection in 2026 as he focuses on winning another fight: his battle with esophageal cancer.

Announcing the news on April 28, Connolly, 74, said he would soon step down from his role as the top Democrat on the House’s powerful Oversight Committee.

“When I announced my diagnosis six months ago, I promised transparency,” he wrote in a note to his constituents posted on social media platform X. “After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned.”

The congressman vowed to “do everything possible” to finish out the rest of his ninth term.

“With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter full of pride in what we’ve accomplished together over 30 years,” he said. “My loving family and staff sustain me. My extended family—you all have been a joy to serve.”

Connolly disclosed his diagnosis last November, revealing that it came as a surprise due to his lack of symptoms, “except for some intermittent abdominal aches and pains.”

At the time, he expressed optimism for the long-term continuance of his public service.

Voters first elected Connolly to represent Virginia’s 11th District, which borders Washington, in 2008. Before that, he served 14 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, including five years as chairman.

Connolly routed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in December in the race to replace Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) as the top Democrat on the Oversight panel. With the backing of the moderate New Democrat Coalition and the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, Connolly secured the coveted role in a 131–84 vote.

“Oversight Democrats must be an aggressive team focused on defending American democracy from President Trump and articulating a Democratic agenda that resonates with our constituents,” the congressman wrote in a Dec. 3 letter to his colleagues ahead of the vote.

Months later, Connolly skipped the president’s congressional address in an act of protest.

Connolly’s work on the Oversight Committee spans the length of his congressional tenure. He also currently sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee and is the acting president of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly, an affiliate organization of NATO.

Connolly is also a member of several congressional caucuses. He is a member of the New Democrat Coalition—the House’s largest Democratic caucus—and chairs the Smart Contracting Caucus. He is also a founding member and chair emeritus of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and co-chairs the Congressional Caucus on U.S.–Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans, the Congressional Caucus on Korea, the Congressional Caucus on Georgia, and the Congressional Caucus on Taiwan.

Jackson Richman contributed to this report.