House Republicans' Advantage Even Thinner With Gallagher Resignation
Republicans’ advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives will be only 217-213 after April 19, following Friday’s decision by U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher to resign.
The resignation means no more than one Republican can cross the aisle on party-line votes.
Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District representative, just 31 when he first won his seat in November 2016, had already said he would not seek a fifth term this election cycle. The timing is such that, by state law, his successor will come during the general election Nov. 5.
That contest, in a strong Republican area, matches state Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, and former Democratic state Sen. Roger Roth.
In a statement, Gallagher said, “Four terms serving Northeast Wisconsin in Congress has been the honor of a lifetime and strengthened my conviction that America is the greatest country in the history of the world.”
Gallagher was a Marine intelligence officer from 2006-13, twice deployed to Iraq.
Gallagher’s statement gave