Congressman Justin Amash announces he won’t run for reelection

Five-term Michigan Congressman Justin Amash announced by tweet late Thursday night that he will not seek reelection in November.

“I love representing our community in Congress. I always will,” Amash wrote. “This is my choice, but I’m still going to miss it.”

Amash, a vocal critic of President Trump who left the Republican Party last year, explored a third-party presidential bid earlier this year but ultimately decided against it, concluding he could not win. When he leaves the Capitol, the House will lose its first and only Libertarian representative. 

His most recent Federal Election Commission filing shows he had raised just about $22,000 in the second quarter of the year for re-election.

There are several Republicans running for Amash’s seat in western Michigan’s 3rd District, but just one Democrat is running in the Democratic primary, immigration attorney Hillary Scholten. The primaries will be held on August 4.  

In December, Amash voted to impeach Mr. Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. While he was still a Republican, Amash was the first GOP congressman to call for Mr. Trump’s impeachment. Mr. Trump was acquitted of the charges by the Senate. 

Months before the impeachment vote, on July 4, 2019, Amash declared that he would leave the Republican Party, disillusioned with a political system that he said was “trapped in a partisan death spiral.” He also lamented that politicians show more loyalty to their party than to the American people.