CHICAGO (AP) — Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois says she will not seek reelection next year. She is stepping aside after playing a lead role in the 2020 elections that unexpectedly saw her party nearly lose House control.
Bustos was first elected to her largely rural district in 2012 and became chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the 2020 campaign. She had argued that Democrats needed to do more to appeal to voters in the heartland who supported Donald Trump and other Republicans in 2016.
Instead, she drew fire from fellow Democrats last fall after guiding the DCCC to a near-disastrous Election Day.
