By Billy House
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WASHINGTON -- The longest serving Republican in the U.S. House says he's running for another term in Congress, even as many of his GOP colleagues may be leaving.
"Unless I tell you something different, just assume that I am running," Florida Rep. C.W. Bill Young, said in an interview Thursday.
Republican Party officials in Washington and in Young's Tampa Bay area district confirmed that Young, 77, has told them he will run for a 20th, two-year term.
"Yeah, he's running," said Pinellas County GOP chairman Tony DiMatteo.
The news ends months of speculation on what Young plans to do.
It also brings some relief to House Republican leaders.
Since the GOP lost majority control of the chamber after the 2006 elections, 20 House Republicans have announced they will not be seeking reelection to their seats this fall – compared to just five Democratic departures. (Three other Republican seats and one Democratic seat will be the focus of special elections in March.)
"That's a pretty scary list," said Young of the number of his colleagues who are leaving. "The same thing happened in '95, when we took the majority. A lot of Democrats retired."
Democrats already control the chamber 232 seats to 200.
Young's retirement would have only compounded his party's troubles by forcing Republicans to scramble to keep what many consider a relatively safe seat in the Tampa Bay area.
Analysts predict that as many as eight of the seats now held by departing Republicans could be at risk because they will be more competitive without an incumbent. Only one such Democratic seat is viewed as competitive.
Republicans face an uphill battle just to keep what seats they have, said David Wasserman, the U.S. House expert for the Cook Political Report, a non-partisan newsletter.
"It's the lopsided nature of the retirements in the House,"" he said, predicting Democrats will pick up from two seats to seven.
Locally, Young's departure also would have stripped the Tampa Bay area of his seniority in Congress. From his senior position on the House Appropriations Committee – a panel he chaired until 2005 – he has been able to steer hundreds of millions of dollars to his district, region and state.
It also may quash efforts by Democrats who have been suggesting they might target Young's district, which has been trending Democrat but continues to have a Republican voting edge.
Young has never won with less than 57 percent of the vote, even when President Bush won the district only narrowly in 2004, 51 percent to 49 percent.
As of Thursday, no Democratic challenger has filed to run for the office with the Federal Election Commission.
"We hope to have a strong candidate," responded Kyra Jennings, the Southern Regional press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which oversees national strategy for the party's U.S. House races.
But Jennings acknowledged her party has not yet lined up a candidate.
FEC records show that through the end of September, Young had $579,196 in his reelection campaign war chest, raising $243,000 since January 2006. Updated numbers are required to be filed with the FEC by the end of this month.
Young said Thursday he did not feel it necessary to make a formal announcement that he's decided to run for a 20th, two-year term.
"I have never 'announced'," he explained of his past reelection campaigns, saying that he simply shows up with candidate qualifying papers when they are due in May.
Young did acknowledge that he had promised to let his party know some time early this year if he was not running again, to give potential GOP successors time to gear up their campaigns.
Click the play button below to hear Bill Young talk about U.S. House retirements and his plans..
Here's a list of U.S. House seats that will be filled in so-called “open races” that will not include an incumbent.
Republicans
1. (CA-52) Duncan Hunter
2. (IL-18) Ray LaHood
3. (MS-03) Chip Pickering
4. (OH-15) Deborah Pryce
5. (IL-14) Dennis Hastert *
6. (AZ-01) Rick Renzi
7. (MN-03) Jim Ramstad
8. (IL-11) Jerry Weller
9. (AL-02) Terry Everett
10. (NM-01) Heather Wilson
11. (OH-16) Ralph Regula
12. (OH-07) David Hobson
13. (NM-02) Steve Pearce
14. (LA-01) Bobby Jindal *
15. (CO-06) Tom Tancredo
16. (NJ-03) Jim Saxton
17. (WY-AL) Barbara Cubin
18. (NJ-07) Michael Ferguson
19. (LA-04) Jim McCrery
20. (MS-01) Roger Wicker *
21. (PA-05) John Peterson
22. (CA-04) John Doolittle
23. (LA-04) Richard Baker
Democrats
1. (CO-02) Mark Udall
2. (ME-01) Tom Allen
3. (NY- 21) Mike McNulty
4. (NM-03) Tom Udall
5. (IN-07) OPEN – Julia Carson* (died)
6. (CA-12) Tom Lantos
* Seats will be replaced prior to the 2008 election
Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 662-7673.
"Unless I tell you something different, just assume that I am running," Florida Rep. C.W. Bill Young, said in an interview Thursday.
Republican Party officials in Washington and in Young's Tampa Bay area district confirmed that Young, 77, has told them he will run for a 20th, two-year term.
"Yeah, he's running," said Pinellas County GOP chairman Tony DiMatteo.
The news ends months of speculation on what Young plans to do.
It also brings some relief to House Republican leaders.
Since the GOP lost majority control of the chamber after the 2006 elections, 20 House Republicans have announced they will not be seeking reelection to their seats this fall – compared to just five Democratic departures. (Three other Republican seats and one Democratic seat will be the focus of special elections in March.)
"That's a pretty scary list," said Young of the number of his colleagues who are leaving. "The same thing happened in '95, when we took the majority. A lot of Democrats retired."
Democrats already control the chamber 232 seats to 200.
Young's retirement would have only compounded his party's troubles by forcing Republicans to scramble to keep what many consider a relatively safe seat in the Tampa Bay area.
Analysts predict that as many as eight of the seats now held by departing Republicans could be at risk because they will be more competitive without an incumbent. Only one such Democratic seat is viewed as competitive.
Republicans face an uphill battle just to keep what seats they have, said David Wasserman, the U.S. House expert for the Cook Political Report, a non-partisan newsletter.
"It's the lopsided nature of the retirements in the House,"" he said, predicting Democrats will pick up from two seats to seven.
Locally, Young's departure also would have stripped the Tampa Bay area of his seniority in Congress. From his senior position on the House Appropriations Committee – a panel he chaired until 2005 – he has been able to steer hundreds of millions of dollars to his district, region and state.
It also may quash efforts by Democrats who have been suggesting they might target Young's district, which has been trending Democrat but continues to have a Republican voting edge.
Young has never won with less than 57 percent of the vote, even when President Bush won the district only narrowly in 2004, 51 percent to 49 percent.
As of Thursday, no Democratic challenger has filed to run for the office with the Federal Election Commission.
"We hope to have a strong candidate," responded Kyra Jennings, the Southern Regional press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which oversees national strategy for the party's U.S. House races.
But Jennings acknowledged her party has not yet lined up a candidate.
FEC records show that through the end of September, Young had $579,196 in his reelection campaign war chest, raising $243,000 since January 2006. Updated numbers are required to be filed with the FEC by the end of this month.
Young said Thursday he did not feel it necessary to make a formal announcement that he's decided to run for a 20th, two-year term.
"I have never 'announced'," he explained of his past reelection campaigns, saying that he simply shows up with candidate qualifying papers when they are due in May.
Young did acknowledge that he had promised to let his party know some time early this year if he was not running again, to give potential GOP successors time to gear up their campaigns.
Click the play button below to hear Bill Young talk about U.S. House retirements and his plans..
Here's a list of U.S. House seats that will be filled in so-called “open races” that will not include an incumbent.
Republicans
1. (CA-52) Duncan Hunter
2. (IL-18) Ray LaHood
3. (MS-03) Chip Pickering
4. (OH-15) Deborah Pryce
5. (IL-14) Dennis Hastert *
6. (AZ-01) Rick Renzi
7. (MN-03) Jim Ramstad
8. (IL-11) Jerry Weller
9. (AL-02) Terry Everett
10. (NM-01) Heather Wilson
11. (OH-16) Ralph Regula
12. (OH-07) David Hobson
13. (NM-02) Steve Pearce
14. (LA-01) Bobby Jindal *
15. (CO-06) Tom Tancredo
16. (NJ-03) Jim Saxton
17. (WY-AL) Barbara Cubin
18. (NJ-07) Michael Ferguson
19. (LA-04) Jim McCrery
20. (MS-01) Roger Wicker *
21. (PA-05) John Peterson
22. (CA-04) John Doolittle
23. (LA-04) Richard Baker
Democrats
1. (CO-02) Mark Udall
2. (ME-01) Tom Allen
3. (NY- 21) Mike McNulty
4. (NM-03) Tom Udall
5. (IN-07) OPEN – Julia Carson* (died)
6. (CA-12) Tom Lantos
* Seats will be replaced prior to the 2008 election
Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 662-7673.