Dem U.S. Rep. Ron Kind announced today he won’t seek reelection in 2022, telling a La Crosse news conference, “The truth is, I’ve run out of gas.”
Kind has represented the western Wisconsin seat for more than 24 years and was already a top GOP target in 2022 after his narrow reelection last fall.
Appearing at a news conference in front of his former elementary school, the 58-year-old said he will serve out the remainder of his term, ticking off a series of priorities. That includes beating COVID-19, rebuilding the economy, addressing climate change and protecting voting rights.
“I’m going to break the tape,” Kind said of his final months in office.
Kind beat Republican Derrick Van Orden by 2.7 percentage points last fall, his smallest margin of victory since winning the western Wisconsin seat in 1996. Van Orden earlier this year announced plans to run for the seat again, and Republicans have hammered Kind this year for owning a building in La Crosse that rented space to a massage parlor.
