Georgia Republican Barry Loudermilk won’t seek reelection to US House
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Republican U.S. House member Barry Loudermilk, an active efforts to discredit Democrat-led investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election this year.
Loudermilk has served in Congress since 2015. He is part of a wave of incumbents leaving the House. 50 so far They resign or move to another position.
Four Republican-held congressional seats in Georgia will change hands this year. In addition to Loudermilk, U.S. Representative. Marjorie Taylor Greene He resigned his seat in January to hold a special election in March. US Representatives buddy carter And mike collins Both are running for the GOP’s US Senate nomination and aim to unseat the incumbent Democratic US Senator. Jon Ossoff.
Loudermilk, 62, said in a statement that he wanted to spend “more private time” with his family.
“I first ran for Congress in 2014, and as I have stated before, representing the people in Congress is not a career, it is a service,” Loudermilk said. “And while I continue to receive strong support from the people of the 11th Congressional District, I believe it is time to contribute to my community, my state, and my nation in other ways.”
The 11th Congressional District, northwest of Atlanta, includes all of Bartow, Gordon and Pickens counties and parts of Cherokee and Cobb counties. The Cook Political Report ranks the district as the fifth-strongest Republican district among the nine districts the GOP holds in Georgia.
Prior to serving in Congress, Loudermilk served in the Air Force. He chaired the Bartow County Republican Party and then served six years in the Georgia state House of Representatives and two years in the state Senate.
Loudermilk was investigated by a House committee on Jan. 6 for touring parts of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 5, 2021. The committee suggested that some tour participants may have been reviewing security measures. Loudermilk denied any wrongdoing, saying it was a “smear campaign.”
After Republicans took the majority, Loudermilk led a subcommittee that issued a report alleging that former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney had acted improperly at the Democratic-led Jan. 6 committee and calling for her to be investigated for tampering with criminal witnesses. Loudermilk is currently leading another subcommittee tasked with further investigating Jan. 6.
