Rep. Charlie Dent's retirement comes the day after another swing district Republican, Washington Rep. Dave Reichert, announced he was calling it quits. GOP moderate Charlie Dent won't seek reelection to House in 2018

Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican who occupies a swing district, will not seek reelection in 2018, he confirmed in a statement on Thursday night.

Dent issued a statement emphasizing his lengthy career in public office and noting that he "never planned on serving" more than five or six terms — but he's now in his seventh.


Dent said his decision was the product of periodic discussions that began during the government shutdown in 2013 and continued into the mid-summer, when a small group of friends, family and staff decided he wouldn't run again.

Dent described himself as a member of the "governing wing of the Republican Party" and said he's always sought to "fulfill the basic functions of government, like keeping the lights on and preventing default."

"Regrettably, that has not been easy given the disruptive outside influences that profit from increased polarization and ideological rigidity that leads to dysfunction, disorder and chaos," he said.

Dent's retirement comes the day after another swing district Republican, Washington Rep. Dave Reichert, announced he was calling it quits. Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, another moderate, is also retiring. Democrats are certain to target all three seats in next year's midterms. Dent's announced departure comes one day after state Rep. Justin Simmons said he would challenge him in a primary.

Dent spent much of 2017 opposing President Donald Trump's agenda, to the chagrin of hard-line conservatives, who vowed to oppose him. Last Friday, 125 conservative allies of the president converged in Dent's district in Northeast Pennsylvania to voice their opposition to his actions in office.

Dent is leader of the centrist Tuesday Group. He has openly questioned the the GOP's proposed budget and the president's efforts on tax reform.

Dent's decision seemed to catch his primary rival, Simmons, off guard on Thursday evening.

"I guess the polling must have been really bad. Can't say we were expecting this," he said.

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Simmons has feuded with Dent in recent weeks as he inched closer to mounting a primary challenge. He contended that Dent failed to adequately support Trump's agenda and that Dent had lost touch with the Republican Party in his district, as well as nationally. Dent fired back at Simmons last week, releasing a series of text messages, including one in which Simmons asked for his endorsement.

Simmons formally entered the race on Wednesday, and said he "absolutely" thinks Dent decided to retire because of the challenge.

"I think right now we could say, 'Mission Accomplished,'" Simmons said. "We wanted to make sure we got a more conservative candidate in the seat, and now we can do that."

Simmons spoke Friday at a rally organized by groups aligned with Trump, who descended on Dent's district and called for his ouster. At the time, Dent rejected complaints that he doesn't support Trump, arguing that he was willing to work with the president.

"At the same time," he added, "I am not a sycophant."

President Donald Trump carried Pennsylvania's 15th District with nearly 52 percent of the vote in 2016. But former President Barack Obama also won it once, and Democrats have long coveted the seat, which Dent protected even during wave elections last decade.

Cristiano Lima contributed to this report.