Renzo Downey
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch has resigned from Congress, marking an early end to his congressional career after more than 12 years in the House.
Deutch, a Boca Raton Democrat, had announced his decision against seeking re-election in February. Deutch had planned to resign when the House recessed for the coming election to become the CEO of the American Jewish Committee.
With the close of business Friday, the House is expected to be in recess until mid-November.
“As I leave these storied halls for the last time, it is serving you — my neighbors, friends and constituents — that I will most most of all,” Deutch wrote in his resignation letter. “It has been the honor of my life to serve the South Florida community and the American people in Congress.”
Deutch also reflected on the highs and lows of his time in office, including the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
“What the people in our community — especially the young people — did after that tragedy was unforgettable, not only for all of us in South Florida, but for our entire nation,” Deutch wrote. “You created a sense of community and empowerment that shaped our national discourse, and you raised your voices, together, to speak out to prevent the next tragedy.”
During his final address on the House floor, delivered last week, Deutch reflected on Jan. 6, 2021, and the partisanship that has come to define this era.
“The battles here feel important and often all-consuming. The trail of stymied progress is infuriating,” Deutch said. “But what this body of government is able to do for our constituency, as increasingly rare as it may feel, that is important. It’s more important than me, it’s more important than my successor, it is more important than any of us. I have been here long enough to see that it is worth fighting for.”
Deutch was elected to the Florida Senate in 2007 and left in April 2010 after winning a Special Election for the U.S. House. He has served in the House since, representing various iterations of the district from the 19th Congressional District, the 21st Congressional District and now to the 22nd Congressional District.
Until his resignation, Deutch was the Chairman of the House Committee on Ethics and the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism. He is also a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Deutch’s seat will remain vacant until after the Midterm Election. His successor will either be Democrat Jared Moskowitz or Republican Joe Budd. However, the redrawn 23rd Congressional District favors Democrats by double digits, per analyses.
2 comments
Christine Scott NPA Candidate
October 3, 2022 at 12:49 am
There are more NPAs in D23 than Republicans and almost as many NPAs as Dems. Neither the R or D party have a lock on the election.
NPAs in D23 are strong and solid. Voters are disenchanted with both parties and their divisiveness.
It’s a fools move or ignorance of the facts to assume an NPA can’t win D23 due to the particular district and political climate
It's Complicated
October 5, 2022 at 3:27 pm
The Ds and Rs actually DO have a lock on elections in Florida. To believe otherwise is (currently) naive or uninformed.
NPAs tend to hold a wide variety of perspectives. Just because a candidate is NPA doesn’t mean the candidate will have broad appeal to NPA voters. There are former Democratic Party voters who switched to NPA because the party was too liberal, and some switched because it was not liberal enough. Same is true for Republicans. Some switched to NPA because the GOP is not conservative enough, some leave because it is not centrist enough. Some leave because they believe the Ds and Rs are ‘two wings of the same bird.’ NPAs are a far cry from being a monolithic block of voters.
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