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Rep. Peter King, Longtime L.I. Republican, Won't Run For Reelection In 2020
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 11, 2019
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Rep. Peter King / Facebook
By
Jen Chung
Published Nov 11, 2019
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Rep. Peter King, who is in his 14th term as a Congressman, announced he will not seek reelection in 2020. The Republican explained his decision in a Facebook post, "The prime reason for my decision was that after 28 years of spending 4 days a week in Washington, D.C., it is time to end the weekly commute and be home in Seaford."
The 75-year-old added that he and his wife "decided that, especially since we are both in good health, it is time to have the flexibility to spend more time with our children and grandchildren. My daughter’s recent move to North Carolina certainly accelerated my thinking."
King, who sat with President Donald Trump during the president's visit to the mixed martial arts event at Madison Square earlier this month, first represented District 3, after winning election in 1992, and was elected to District 2 in 2012, after redistricting went into effect.
Last year, his victory over first-time Democratic candidate Liuba Gretchen Shirley, who argued that King had forgotten his working class constituents, was the most competitive race he faced in years. However, he maintained an air of confidence in his retirement-announcement post:
"My time in Congress has been an extraordinary experience - an experience I wouldn’t have even dared imagine when I was a kid growing up in Sunnyside or a college student loading and unloading trucks and freight cars at Manhattan’s West Side Railway Terminal. I intend to remain in Seaford, be active politically and look forward to seeing what opportunities and challenges await me in this next chapter of a very fortunate life. Politically I will miss the energy and dynamism of a re-election campaign especially since my polling numbers are as strong as they have ever been and I have more than $1 million in campaign funds.
King famously held hearings into Muslim radicalization in 2011, after accusing American Muslims of not helping authorities fight terrorism, and also demanded more surveillance of Muslims after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. (He previously claimed that 80% of mosques are "controlled by radical imams" and that were were too many mosques.) However, when asked about his hearty support for the Irish Republican Army, King told the NY Times, "I understand why people who are misinformed might see a parallel. The fact is, the I.R.A. never attacked the United States. And my loyalty is to the United States."
A native New Yorker—he was born in Manhattan and grew up in Sunnyside, Queens—King did battle his Republican colleagues when they blocked or stalled funding and other health resources to 9/11 victims and first responders.
In an interview with Newsday today, King revealed that he told President Trump about his decision in a phone call on Sunday morning, "First, he was surprised. He asked me if I could reconsider. I gave the reasons why, and he said, 'well, you've done a good job,' something like that." He added, "I told him I'd support him any way he wants."
"In the coming weeks and during the next year I intend to vote against President Trump ‘s impeachment and will support the President’s bid for re-election," King wrote on Facebook.
Senator Chuck Schumer posted an extremely fond Tweet saluting King, "Peter King stood head & shoulders above everyone else He’s been principled & never let others push him away from his principles He’s fiercely loved America, Long Island, and his Irish heritage and left a lasting mark on all 3 I will miss him in Congress & value his friendship." The senior Senator from New York is getting ratioed as there are about 2,000 replies.
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peter king
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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