WASHINGTON — Rep. James Walsh, R-N.Y., spent last year aggressively fundraising and campaigning for what promised to be a very close election in his tossup district in Syracuse. A 10-term House veteran and senior member on the coveted House Appropriations Committee, Walsh raised more than $780,000, almost triple his 2005 total.
But even if Walsh were to win again, he would almost certainly face another term in the minority, generally a guarantee that he would be frustrated trying to accomplish his agenda.
A few days ago, he announced his retirement, deciding that another grueling race was not worth it.
Walsh joined 27 GOP colleagues — five in the past week — who have decided to step down, a major blow for a minority party desperately trying to keep Democrats from padding their majority in the House this year.
“It is no question we have a major challenge. The last week has been difficult,” said Rep. Tom Cole (Okla.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “They can stretch the battlefield. They can go to a lot of different places.”
Only six Democrats are leaving, all from safe districts. To make matters worse for the Republicans, the Democrats’ campaign committee filed year-end reports last week showing, for the first time in any political observer’s memory, that it had raised more money than its GOP counterpart last year.
The financial and numerical disparity leaves House Republicans with tough choices that they have not faced since the early 1990s.
After a 12-year reign in the majority, Republicans began 2007 expecting to battle about 60 House Democrats in districts that President Bush won in 2004. Republicans held slim hopes of reclaiming the majority.
Instead, they watched their chances shrink as the wave of retirements grew.
