Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., is an 18-term career politician… but the longtime Democrat appears to be calling it quits.
Norton, Washington D.C.’s nonvoting delegate to the House for more than three decades, will not seek a 19th term in office, according to Politico.
Yesterday, Norton’s campaign filed a termination notice with the Federal Election Commission, essentially signaling an end to her campaign.
A new indication DC Del Eleanor Holmes Norton won’t seek reelection. She’s filed an FEC termination report, which is done when candidates decide not to run. The filing was first reported by NOTUS. Norton is 88 has been in office since 1991. WTOP has reached out to her office. pic.twitter.com/MLJTB073kt
— Mitchell Miller (@mmillerwtop) January 25, 2026
Norton, 88, has faced mounting questions about her ability to serve in office as she retreated from most public appearances and showed unmistakable signs of frailty when she did speak.
Norton, who reportedly has early dementia, recently fell victim to a home scam when multiple individuals posing as HVAC workers charged $4,362 to her credit card for services they never performed.
According to reports, Norton allowed the suspects into her Southeast Washington home around 3:30 p.m. after they claimed to be a cleaning crew.
Per a D.C. police report, Norton provided her credit card information to the individuals, who billed her for duct and fireplace cleaning without doing any work.
The unfortunate scam highlighted mounting pressure to retire from fellow Democrats.
Former DNC interim chair Donna Brazile, who served as Norton’s campaign manager when she was first elected in 1990, recently wrote a Washington Post op-ed demanding Norton resign at the end of her term.
“She is no longer the dynamo she once was, at a time when D.C. needs the kind of energetic representation in Congress she provided for decades,” Brazile wrote.
“It’s in her best interest, and the interest of D.C., for her to serve her current term but then end her extraordinary service in Congress and not seek reelection next year.”
Recently, Norton appeared to struggle to walk on her own as she left a news conference about the federal crime crackdown in D.C. last September.
She held on to the arm of an aide who walked her up to the podium. After she spoke, Norton held on to the podium until the aide returned to help support her as she walked away.
Rep. Jamie Raskin told The New York Times last June that Norton was “an icon,” but added that “it’s going to take a new generation of leadership to win statehood and the battles of the day.”
Norton told reporters last June she plans to run for reelection in 2026, saying:
“I’m going to run,” Norton said.
“I don’t know why anyone would even ask me.”
One of only two people who have represented D.C. in Congress since the delegate position was established in 1970, Norton made her reputation as a civil rights activist and pioneering attorney for women’s rights.