Rep. Ed Royce, first elected in 1992, was facing a difficult — and expensive — campaign for a 14th term. | AP Photo House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Royce to retire

Rep. Ed Royce will not seek reelection this year, the California Republican announced Monday.

Royce, the powerful chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, becomes the latest committee chairman to forego a reelection bid in what is shaping up to be a challenging midterm election for the GOP.


“In this final year of my Foreign Affairs Committee chairmanship, I want to focus fully on the urgent threats facing our nation, including: the brutal, corrupt and dangerous regimes in Pyongyang and Tehran, Vladimir Putin’s continued efforts to weaponize information to fracture western democracies, and growing terrorist threats in Africa and Central Asia,” Royce said in a statement. “With this in mind, and with the support of my wife Marie, I have decided not to seek reelection in November.”

In total, seven GOP committee chairs are either retiring or — in the case of Tennessee's Diane Black, the former chair of the Budget Committee — seeking another office.

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Royce, first elected in 1992, was facing a difficult — and expensive — campaign for a 14th term. He has already drawn a half-dozen Democratic challengers, who raised more than $4.1 million combined in the third quarter of 2017. Two Democrats — Andy Thorburn, a health insurance executive, and Gil Cisneros, a former naval officer and lottery winner — are self-funding much of their bids, while Mai Khanh Tran, a physician, has been endorsed by EMILY’s List. Sam Jammal, a former Obama administration official, is also a contender in the June 5, all-party primary.

Democrats and labor allies were celebrating within minutes of Royce’s announcement. The Democratic Congressional Campaign called Royce’s retirement “another sign of Democrats’ growing momentum in 2018,” DCCC spokesman Drew Godinich said in a statement.

The California Labor Federation’s Steve Smith posted on Twitter: “Republicans in CA feeling the heat … Rather than defend support of Trump agenda, Royce bows out. Who’s next?"

Royce's Orange County district has shifted politically: Mitt Romney carried the seat with 51 percent of the vote in 2012, but President Donald Trump only won 43 percent in 2016, losing the district by 8 percentage points. But Republicans are bullish about their chances at maintaining the seat, citing a deep bench.

“Republicans are fired up and ready to hold this seat,” NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers (Ohio) said in a statement. “Orange County has no shortage of Republican talent and a highly organized ground effort with the NRCC at the forefront. We have just one message for Democrats who think they can compete for this seat: Bring it on."

Local Republicans listed several potential candidates, including Michelle Steel, chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors; Young Kim, a former assemblywoman; Scott Baugh, a former chairman of the Orange County Republican Party; Bob Huff, a former state Senate minority leader who represented part of Orange County; state Assemblyman Phillip Chen; and Ling-Ling Chang, a former state assemblywoman.

“There are a lot of ambitious elected officials in Orange County who will take a look at running,” said Jason Roe, a Republican consultant in California. “Once a candidate emerges, the infrastructure and resources will be there.”