EDITORIAL: Amodei joins a long list of retiring House members

Rep. Mark Amodei has joined the exodus from Congress. His decision complicates the November elections for Nevada Republicans.

Rep. Amodei, 67, has served in the U.S. House for 15 years, representing Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Reno and the upper half of the state. He is currently the lone Republican member of the state’s four-person congressional delegation.

Rep. Amodei joins 50 of his House colleagues — 21 Democrats and 29 Republicans — who have chosen not to run for reelection this year. Couple that with nine incumbent senators opting to step down, and it’s the largest number of congressional retirements this century, according to the Brookings Institution’s Vital Statistics on Congress.

Many of those leaving cite a toxic environment inside the Beltway created by increasing hyperpartisanship. Rep. Amodei was more circumspect. “I came to Congress to solve problems and to make sure our state and nation have a strong voice in the federal policy and oversight processes,” he wrote in a statement. “I look forward to finishing my term.” He added, “After 15 years of service, I believe it is the right time for Nevada and myself to pass the torch.”

Rep. Amodei’s commitment to Northern and rural Nevada was unquestioned. He has been a staunch advocate of giving the state more control over the federal government’s vast land holdings in Nevada. He was born in Carson City, attended the University of Nevada, Reno, and served in the U.S. Army before becoming an attorney. He did a stint as president of the Nevada Mining Association. Before easily winning his congressional seat in a 2011 special election, Rep. Amodei served in the state Legislature for 14 years.

The retirement came as a surprise to most political observers. As recently as December, Rep. Amodei had expressed his desire to run for another term. His district is solidly red — the GOP has a 16-point edge in voter registration, although about one-third of voters identify as independents.

But Republicans would be foolish to take victory in Congressional District 2 for granted, particularly as they face headwinds with the midterms less than nine months away. Candidate quality has been a problem for the state party, which has squandered chances to flip seats in Nevada’s more competitive House districts and the Senate. If Republicans fail to nominate a competent replacement for Rep. Amodei, that will mitigate their registration advantage and open the door for Democratic investment in a race they might otherwise have ignored.

Filing for the primary opens March 2 and continues through March 13. So far, the list of potential GOP candidates has been wholly speculative. It will be up to Republican voters in CD2 to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The views expressed above are those of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.