'We encourage the congressman to resign immediately,' said a prominent state Dem of Wu. | Niko Duffy Wu makes his resignation official

Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) made his resignation official Wednesday, clearing the way for a special election to succeed him.

“Serving as a U.S. congressman has been the greatest honor of my life. There is no other job where you get up each day and ask, ‘How can I try to make the world a better place today?’” Wu said in a statement, which said the resignation would take effect at 11:59 p.m.


Gov. John Kitzhaber can now set the date for a special election in the traditionally Democratic district that Wu has held since 1999. A spokeswoman for the governor didn’t say when that would happen, but he is widely expected to schedule the election for more than 80 days from Wednesday, allowing the candidates to be chosen by party primaries — rather than by conventions of party officials.

Wu had been under fire after the teenage daughter of a campaign contributor accused him of an “unwanted sexual encounter.”

State Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, state Sen. Suzanne Bonamici and state Rep. Brad Witt, all Democrats, are running to replace Wu. Republican Rob Cornilles, who lost to Wu last year, is expected to announce Thursday that he’s running again.

Wu’s resignation came more than 24 hours after President Barack Obama signed into law a debt-ceiling increase — a delay that was beginning to unnerve Oregon Democrats. Wu had said last week that he’d “upon the resolution of the debt ceiling crisis.” Earlier on Wednesday, his colleagues said it was time to make it official.

“Representative Wu said he would step down following the resolution of the debt debate. That debate is resolved. It is time for him to formally resign so that Oregon can move quickly to organize a special election,” Oregon Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley told POLITICO in a statement.

“We encourage the congressman to resign immediately,” state Democratic Party Executive Director Trent Lutz said. “At this point, it’s time to move forward with the election process.”

In his statement, Wu pointed to the policy initiatives that mattered most to him.

“Particularly meaningful to me has been working for more and better investments in science and education,” he said. “Also, I believe that my support for people who struggle for human rights and civil liberties will ultimately bear fruit in a world that is more just and peaceful.

“However great the honor and engaging the work, there comes a time to hand on the privilege of elected office—and that time has come.”