One of the 10 House Republicans that voted to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 rebellion at the Capitol, announced Thursday night that he would not be seeking reelection in Ohio next election.
U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez is a former NFL player who had a bright future in politics. He cited his children as the reason for his decision.
Gonzalez stated that while my desire to create a better family life is the core of my decision, it’s also true that the current political state, particularly many of the toxic dynamics within our party, is a major factor in my decisions.
Gonzalez, 36, would have faced Max Miller during the 2022 primary. Trump has supported Miller, his former White House aide and campaign aide as part of his attempt to punish those who voted to impeach him or block his attempts to reverse the election results. Trump supported Miller during this summer.
Miller’s campaign said that Gonzalez’s announcement on Thursday was “good news for voters in our district,” and that Gonzalez had “dishonored office by betraying his constituents”.
Gonzalez is the representative of Northeast Ohio’s 16th Congressional district, located in the northeastern region.
In May , the Ohio Republican Party fired Gonzalez for voting in February to impeach Trump. In the face of strong resistance from his conservative party wing, Gonzalez stood by his vote for impeachment.
It is not clear if any other House Republicans will follow Gonzalez’s lead and vote for impeachment.
Gonzalez said Trump was a “cancer for the country”, a threat to democracy, and that January 6 was a “line-in-the sand moment” for his decision in an interview with The New York Times.
He said that there was a time when the party might have broken with the former president but he is dismayed at its decision to embrace Trump.
Gonzalez stated that this is the direction we are going in for the next two and possibly four years. It will make Trump the center for fund-raising efforts as well as political outreach,” Gonzalez said to the newspaper. “That’s not something that I’m going be a part of.”
He stated that he will spend his time working to stop Trump being elected again to the White House.
He stated, “Most of me political energy will be spent on that goal.”
Trump’s aides didn’t immediately respond to a request of comment.