WASHINGTON _ Tennessee Rep. Phil Roe, the ranking Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, will not run for reelection in 2020, opening up a solidly Republican seat.
"As someone who practiced medicine for over 30 years, I said I would serve five or six terms because I never intended this job to be a second career," Roe said in a statement Friday morning. "After prayerful consideration, I have decided to retire at the end of the 116th Congress."
Roe, 74, was first elected to Tennessee's 1st District in 2008, unseating freshman GOP Rep. David Davis in the Republican primary. During that campaign, Roe said members of the House shouldn't serve more than 10 years.
The former Johnson City mayor and retired OB-GYN was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017 and flirted with retirement ahead of the 2018 midterms, but ultimately decided to run for a sixth term, citing his role as Veterans Affairs Committee chairman as a reason to stick around. He won reelection by 56 points that fall, but he lost his chairmanship when Republicans lost control of the House.
President Donald Trump carried the east Tennessee district by 57 points in 2016. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race Solid Republican.
The total number of retirements so far has already exceeded the average number of 23 retirements in recent election cycles. Roe's announcement makes him the 22nd House Republican to retire, while six House Democrats are also retiring.
