Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), reversing his earlier insistence that he intended to run for a 21st term in the U.S. House of Representatives, announced Thursday morning that he will retire. His opponent, spiritual guru Marianne Williamson, will be join Breitbart News in Los Angeles today for a meeting arranged well in advance.
When Williamson, a friend and adviser to Hollywood celebrities and religious leaders worldwide, announced her candidacy last fall, few gave her a chance. Waxman declared that he intended o stay in office, telling the Los Angeles Times: “I have a long record of accomplishments that I think are very important to the public interest….I’ve been fighting these fights, fighting against a lot of special-interest groups, for years.”
Waxman faced his first relative tough challenge in 2012 after independent businessman Bill Bloomfield won in the state’s new “jungle primary” system, in which the top two candidates advance to the general election regardless of party. He was considered likely to win in 2014. Waxman is a major proponent of climate change legislation and a leading supporter of Obamacare. His retirement suggests senior Democrats have no hope that their party will win the House back in 2012 and may focus their efforts on retaining the Senate.
This post has been updated to reflect that Waxman would have been running for his 21st term, not his 20th.
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